When the Levee Breaks
by supernaturaldarkangel252018
Summary: Sequel to All Along the Watchtower. Alec and Max rebuild TC after the destruction caused by the attack. One threat is gone, but they still have many enemies, and not all of them are from the outside. Definitely M/A
1. Chapter 1

_Hey everyone! I'm really excited to post the first chapter for the sequel to All Along the Watchtower! If you have not read the first one then I'm afraid you will be lost. I advise that you go back and read that one if you're interested in this one, but if you don't want to that is totally up to you. This is the continuing adventures of Alec and Max. I'm really bad at summaries, but a lot of stuff is going to happen and I'm excited for you all to read it! I hope you all enjoy!_

 _Also there is sexual content so beware!_

* * *

Alec sat at the top of the skeletal structure of TC's new gym. It was just support beams so far, but it was still progress. White and the General had raised TC to the ground and they were just starting to rebuild. He had been given the task of overseeing the rebuilding of TC since he was the one with the vision.

He wasn't so sure about 'the vision', that was Max's term, but he was the one who had come up with which building went where. He didn't mind the responsibility; he liked rebuilding TC and he couldn't wait until everything was done. It was slow going, but he knew it would be worth it in the end.

The wind whipped his clothes around, but it was a nice, warm breeze. He'd always liked the wind since it felt like freedom. He remembered one mission in the mountains; he'd been with his unit and the wind had been cold at that altitude. He usually hated being cold, but this was different. Being so high up with the wind blowing all around him, he felt like he was free.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, content to just stay up there forever.

"What are you doing up here?" Max suddenly asked. She gracefully walked across the support beam and sat down next to him.

"You probably shouldn't sneak up on people when they're sitting in such a precarious position," Alec quipped instead of answering her question.

"Don't act like you didn't hear me coming," Max said, her smile clear in her voice. It was quiet for a moment, and then Max said, "Y'know, Bear's down there grumbling that you've been up here forever…"

"I told her she could go home," Alec said with a small smile.

Max huffed out a laugh, "Obviously she's not going to listen to you."

"Yeah, but she's totally giving me mixed signals. She refuses to leave because she thinks something bad is going to happen to me, but as I climbed up here I'm pretty sure I heard her say that she hoped I fell."

"Sounds like Bear," Max said in amusement.

Alec nodded. He knew Bear really cared; he had all the proof he needed from a little over a month ago. She had found him when he was captured and protected him during the attack. She had made it very clear that he wasn't allowed to ever nearly die again.

Alec leaned over so he could see Bear standing far below. Rocky was standing close to her; even from here it was obvious that he was flirting with her. Alec rolled his eyes; Bear didn't want to admit it, but she and Rocky were definitely in love.

"So, are you going to tell me what you were doing up here or not?" Max asked.

Alec shrugged, "Started out I just wanted to check to make sure the supports were secure…But I don't know…It's nice up here…"

Max nodded, "It's like the Space Needle…"

Alec had forgotten that she used to go up there all the time. "It's a good place to think."

Max reached out and touched his arm. She trailed her fingers down until she touched his hand. He turned his hand over so they could intertwine their fingers. Her palm was smooth whereas his was calloused; he'd been working a lot, but he knew the callouses would disappear soon.

Max leaned closer to him so she could press her lips to his. Her lips were soft against his, and he couldn't help but nearly lose himself in the kiss. He brought his hand up to thread through Max's hair, tilted his head, and opened his mouth just a little.

Max took his invitation and swept her tongue inside his mouth. She moved her free hand to rest against his chest, and then fisted it in his shirt. She started to turn on the support beam to face him, but Alec grabbed her waist to stop her. She practically growled at him and tried to turn again.

Alec pulled away slightly, his lips still brushing against hers and breathed out, "Max…"

Max broke away from him completely and scowled, "What?"

"We're sitting on top of a support beam," Alec said in amusement. "I'm trying to make sure you don't fall off."

"Then why don't we move this to our bedroom?" Max asked, her voice low and seductive.

Alec couldn't argue with that. He carefully stood up, and then reached down to help Max up. She smiled at him before she turned and started back the way she had come. Alec shook his head and followed Max down.

* * *

Alec flopped back onto the bed, breathing hard. A wide smile stretched across his face as Max rolled on top of him. Their bodies were slick with sweat, but with Max pressed against him, he could hardly think of anything else. Her breasts were against him and her hair tickled his bare chest. She wrapped her arms around his neck to try to bring them even closer together and Alec tightened his hold around her waist.

"That makes being stuck in Command all day a lot better," Max said. Alec hummed his agreement as Max kissed his neck.

"Yeah, I'm not jealous about that," Alec said. "I like working outside."

"And you don't have to deal with Jason," Max added, smiling up at him.

Alec made a face; he didn't mind the new mayor, he was just an overly upbeat guy and Alec could only take so much of him. "I don't mind his bodyguard, Trevor, so much."

"That's because he doesn't talk," Max said with a frown.

"Exactly," Alec said, smirking back at her. "Besides, all that politics crap is your area."

"Could be yours too if you wanted it," Max said. "I'm sure you'd be good at it."

Alec quickly shook his head no, "I think I'll stick with rebuilding and supplies."

Max hummed against him, and then kissed his chest and ran her hands across his skin. Goosebumps erupted where she touched and he almost shivered. She was the only one that had ever had this effect on him; no other woman could excite him like Max could and she was just barely touching him.

Alec let his fingers graze over her skin in return. He brushed over the sides of her breasts, and then back down to her waist. She made a sound of pleasure low in her throat and he knew he had the same effect on her that she did on him. He ran his hands over her breasts again, making her grind against him.

Max sat up suddenly and straddled him. He started to sit up, but Max pressed against his chest to keep him down. He reached up to at least grab her waist, but she captured both of his wrists with her hands. She forced his arms up by his head and kept his wrists trapped against his pillow.

"Max," Alec growled when she refused to release him. He was an Alpha male; he didn't let other people dominate him. And he didn't like being restrained. He gave a pathetic attempt to free himself, but Max didn't let him go. He didn't want to force himself free since this was Max, but still…

"Alec, relax," Max whispered in his ear.

Alec tried to do what Max said; he wasn't sure about this, but if Max wanted to do it then he'd let her. He loved her and he trusted her.

Max waited until he relaxed under her before she moved again. She kissed him, biting his lower lip and driving him crazy. She swept her tongue inside his mouth and their tongues tangled together. He was ready to go again after just a few minutes of their make out session.

Max moved back and positioned herself over him. She gradually lowered herself onto him and he nearly moaned when her warmth enveloped him. She ground against him and slowly started to move back and forth. She released his wrists only to shift her hands up and interlace her fingers with his. She still forced his hands to remain on the pillow, but he was ok with that now since this felt so good.

Max kept her movements slow as she tried different things. She would grind against him, and then circle around before she lifted herself almost completely off of him, and then thrust back down. She brought him closer to the edge, but then backed off and kept him wanting more. She almost completely stopped, and he couldn't help it when he thrust upward. She moaned in pleasure and Alec nearly lost it, but he held on. Max smiled and leaned down to brush her lips against his.

She sped up then and Alec bit his lip to try to keep control. Max released his hands and moved hers to his sides to help keep herself steady as she bounced on top of him. Alec reached up with his new found freedom and grabbed Max's waist. He let her keep control, because in all honesty he thought she was even hotter taking control.

Max threw her head back suddenly; her back arched and she squeezed around him as she reached her breaking point. That was all it took for him to let go and release inside of her.

They were both breathing hard again, but Max stayed on top of him. She ran her fingers through his sweaty hair, and then leaned forward and rested her elbows on either side of his head. "That wasn't so bad was it?" Max asked softly. She kissed his jaw and moved over to kiss his lips.

"That was amazing," Alec breathed out.

Max smiled and asked, "Really?"

"Yeah, really," Alec replied. He still had his hands on her waist and he slowly moved his hands up and down her soft skin. "Next time though, we're doin' it in the shower."

Max got off of him to lie beside him. "You just won't let that go, will you?"

"Ever since you helped me out in the shower when I hurt my knee, I haven't been able to get the idea out of my head. Just once, Max, that's all I'm asking," Alec said with a small smile.

"Ok, next time we'll do it in the shower," Max promised.

* * *

Alec woke up to Max rustling around their bedroom. He was lying on his stomach with his face pressed against his pillow, but he turned his head so he could see Max. She was already dressed and Alec could smell her shampoo from her recent shower. She stopped searching through her dresser and looked over at him. She must have picked up that his breathing changed.

"Time is it?" Alec mumbled, still somewhat asleep.

"Almost 4:30," Max whispered.

Alec groaned; he didn't have to be up for another three hours. "What are you doing?" Alec asked, slightly slurred. He refused to get up yet; he thought maybe Max would decide to go back to sleep if he sounded pathetic enough. He loved her, but her sleeping habits were hard to keep up with.

"I can't sleep. I was going to go to Command to get an early start," Max replied. She walked over and sat next to his hip. She rubbed his back and said, "Go back to sleep. We can meet up for lunch later."

Alec couldn't argue with that. He was still mostly asleep and Max rubbing his back was sending him the rest of the way. He snuggled further into his pillow and relaxed again.

Max leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "I love you," she whispered before she got up and left the room.

* * *

 _Alec's hands were zip tied together, his arms were above his head, and he was hanging from a hook. His arms were killing him; his shoulders strained to hold up his weight. The room was bare, but there was an empty chair sitting in front of him. He knew this room. The General wasn't in there yet, but Alec knew he'd be there soon._

 _Alec tried to break free of the zip ties, but the only thing he did was tear his wrists up. Blood dripped down his arms and he tried to use that to slip his hand free, but the zip ties were on too tight. Alec leaned his head against his arm; he was exhausted, but he needed to get out of here. He had to get back to Max._

 _The General walked in and Alec immediately brought his head back up to glare at the man. The General smirked at him as he walked closer._

 _"Are you ready to talk yet? Or do you need some more persuasion," The General asked._

 _Alec remained silent; he was too tired to come up with any smart remarks. Besides, he needed to save his strength if he was going to get out of there._

 _The General nodded to the side and Meathead suddenly appeared. Meathead walked forward and punched him hard in the side. He grunted at the pain to his ribs, but otherwise kept his silence._

 _Alec couldn't even remember what the General wanted to know. It didn't matter though; he wouldn't answer the General even if he did know the question. He just wanted to see Max and make sure she was safe._

 _"That's so sad," the General said._

 _Alec snapped back into focus; he'd either missed something or he'd said something out loud without realizing it._

 _"Max is dead," the General stated. "She was shot in the chest while you were here. She died thinking that you abandoned her."_

 _"You're lying," Alec breathed out. It couldn't be true; Max had to still be alive. He would know if something had happened to her._

 _Freckles appeared with a body in his arms. Alec's eyes widened when he recognized the body was Max. Blood covered her chest and dripped down to puddle on the floor._

 _"Max!" Alec yelled. He desperately struggled against his restraints, but he couldn't get free. She didn't move when he called her name; she was pale and her chest remained still since she wasn't breathing._

 _"She's dead and it's your fault," the General said with a sneer. "If you had been there, you could have protected her and prevented this from happening."_

 _Freckles brought Max over and laid her at his feet. Alec's chest felt tight at seeing her so lifeless; he could hardly breathe. Black spots appeared in his vision and he forced himself to take a ragged breath._

 _"Now answer my questions," the General demanded._

 _Alec briefly closed his eyes to try and block out the image of Max's dead body in front of him, but it did nothing. She was dead. There was no reason for him to even try to hold on anymore. He'd only been doing that for Max, to see Max and be with her again. She was gone now so this was pointless._

 _"You might as well just kill me," Alec said lowly, with his head down. "I'm not gonna answer your questions."_

 _Alec heard the General's footsteps walk forward until he was standing right in front of him. The General roughly grabbed his face and forced him to meet his eyes. "Oh, we're not done with you yet," the General said. Alec felt the muzzle of a gun press against his side. "But this is going to hurt." And then he pulled the trigger._

* * *

Alec jolted awake with a gasp. He frantically ran his hands over his sides, but there was no bullet wound. He was in his room; he wasn't captured and Max was still alive. He tried to stop breathing so hard and get himself back together, but his dream had really shook him.

He sat up and buried his face in his hands. He knew his dream wasn't real, but it had felt real. This wasn't the first time he'd dreamt about being back with the General or about Max's death, but each one affected him the same way. And they always happened after Max had left.

He was glad that they happened after Max would leave. He didn't want her to see him freaking out about what had happened to him. He'd been tortured before back at Manticore, but it was still something that stuck with you. He tried to keep it hidden from Max, and so far he was pretty sure she didn't know he was having nightmares still. If she did know, then she probably wouldn't leave him to sleep by himself.

Alec ran his hands back through his hair; he needed to stop thinking about it. He couldn't change what had happened and he was free now. He just needed time to get over it that was all. If he could bury it with everything else then the nightmares would be more manageable and it would just be an unhappy memory.

Alec took a deep breath, and then finally got out of bed. He wasn't really sure what time it was, but he knew that he was done sleeping. He went to their tiny bathroom and turned on the shower as hot as it would go. He got in and just let the water hit his face. This would hopefully help get rid of the last of his dream and get him back to normal. He needed to have his game face on since this was going to be another long day.

He finished his shower and got dressed, and then made his way to the kitchen. Max had left some coffee for him and he quickly poured himself a cup.

He had just started to make a bagel for breakfast when a soft knock sounded at the door. "Come in," Alec called out.

The door opened after a moment, and then Bear walked in. She scanned the room until she saw him and walked over and sat at the bar.

"Want one?" Alec asked, nodding to the bag of bagels on the counter. Bear shrugged her ok and Alec started to get one ready for her too. His bagel popped out of the toaster and he spread cream cheese over it.

"Was it Max or a nightmare that kept you up this time?" Bear suddenly asked.

Alec stopped his motion and glanced up at Bear. "How'd you know?"

"There are dark circles under your eyes," Bear said.

Alec slid her bagel over to her, and then sat down at the bar with his own. "It was a nightmare," Alec confessed.

Bear nodded, "Are you ever going to tell her?"

"She doesn't need to know about it…" Alec muttered. "I can deal with it by myself."

"Alec, you do not have to go through this alone," Bear said softly. "Max would want to help you." Alec took a bite of his bagel to keep from answering. Bear put her hand against his arm and continued, "You have been through so much already, do not add this too."

"I'm alright…"

Bear sighed, "If you will not talk to Max, then at least talk to someone."

"I'm talkin' to you," Alec said with a small smirk.

Bear scowled, "Hardly."

"You know more than Max does," Alec said. He started to say something else, but then the hair stood up on the back of his neck. He might just be paranoid, but it felt like someone was watching him. He slid off of his barstool and snuck over to the window, slowly pulling his gun out of the back of his pants as he walked.

He shot a look over to Bear; she was watching him closely and she slowly moved to back him up. He stood on one side of the window as Bear stood on the other. He moved the curtain to the side and peeked to the next building over.

He couldn't see anything unusual, but the feeling didn't go away. Bear looked away from the window and whispered, "What is it?"

Alec hesitated; it still felt like someone was watching him, but there was no evidence that that was true. This wasn't the first time he'd felt like he was being watched, but he couldn't ever find who it was. "It just feels like someone's watching me…" Alec muttered.

Bear shifted her gaze back to the window and searched for who it could be. "I do not see anyone…"

"Maybe I'm just being paranoid," Alec said. He kept his gaze on the building across from his, but he still couldn't find the source. Reluctantly, he dropped the curtain back into place and stepped away from the window. Bear followed his lead and walked with him back to the bar.

Alec ran his hand through his hair and took a deep breath. Bear patted his shoulder and said, "Alec, if someone is watching you, we will find them. I do not think you are just being paranoid."

Alec gave her a small smile, "Thanks Bear."

Bear smiled back, "Of course. Now, we need to get going if we do not want to be late."

"Yeah, lot's to do," Alec agreed, trying to shrug off the feeling that just wouldn't go away. Alec and Bear both got up to go to the worksite.

* * *

"Hey man," Alec greeted as he and Bear walked over to Lucky. He was wearing a hard hat and he handed a hard hat to both Alec and Bear.

"Why do we have to wear these things?" Lucky complained.

"Because this is a worksite and this is what people wear at worksites to stay safe," Alec explained with a smile.

"We're transgenics, Alec. Our reflexes can prevent any accidents from happening," Lucky said. "We should see them comin' a mile away."

Alec chuckled and patted Lucky on the shoulder, "Just wear it. You might thank me someday."

Lucky shook his head, but then pulled out the blueprints for the gym. He rolled them out and pointed to the south section, "I think we'll be able to get the rest of the frame done today, and then start in on the roof and siding."

"Good," Alec said with a smile. He started walking through the outline of the gym and Lucky and Bear followed him. Heavy loads of the beams were being pulled up by ropes so they could get to the top. Drills could be heard as transgenics put together the support beams. Some of them called out to him to say hello as he walked by and he nodded back to them. Everyone was eager to help where they could and none of them could wait to see the finished product.

Alec had three different buildings being built at the moment. The gym was the one he was most excited about because this would give them a place to blow off steam. The other two buildings were apartment buildings. They were also trying to fix up Command at the same time, but that was more of a patch job. Command had been hit in the attack, but it hadn't been completely destroyed like many of the other buildings.

They had a lot of work to do, but no one was willing to give up. They all wanted to make TC a more livable place because this was their home now. And since they could build whatever they wanted, it was even better.

It had taken them a while to learn how to build what they wanted. Their expertise was in assassinations and military tactics; they'd never had to build anything before. So, after they had an idea of what they wanted to build, they did some research on how to actually accomplish this endeavor. Jason, the mayor, had also helped them out. He issued them a cement truck to make their foundations and he coordinated with them to get their supplies.

Luckily, Max had helped out with the negotiations for supplies. He was good at dealing with thugs for what he wanted, but the mayor was not the type he was used to dealing with. Besides that, he had some serious trust issues with mayors. This guy wasn't so bad, but since the last one had been partly responsible for his capture and torture he wasn't going to take any chances.

There was a sudden snap that brought Alec back to the present. He looked up just in time to see one of the ropes had broken and support beams were falling, heading right for him. Lucky was standing beside him, so he instantly shoved him out of the way.

Bear tackled him just as the support beams crashed into the ground. He and Bear rolled away from the disaster, but Alec quickly sat up and looked around for Lucky.

Lucky slowly pushed himself up, and Alec was glad to see he appeared to be ok. Alec stood and held out his hand to help Bear up too. He walked over to where the beams had crashed; the cement beneath them was cracked and the beams were bent. Alec looked up to see what could have caused this, but the only thing visible was the frayed hope hanging down. There was no one around the rope, and he had no idea what had happened.

"I guess I should thank you for making me wear this thing…" Lucky muttered, pointing to his hard hat.

Alec tried to smile back, but something with this situation didn't feel right. He couldn't place it, but this didn't feel like an accident.

He suddenly felt like someone was watching him again. He spun around to look for the source, but there was no one.

* * *

 _More soon..._


	2. Chapter 2

_Sorry for the long wait, but don't worry I haven't forgotten about this story. Hope you all like it!_

* * *

Max leaned forward and kissed Alec's cheek. "I love you," she whispered before she got up and left the room. She really did want to stay with him while he slept, but she wasn't tired and she couldn't ignore her work in Command. The sooner she got started on it, the sooner she would be done.

They had a lot to do to get things running how they were before the attack. Alec had people working on fixing Command since there was a big hole in the ceiling, but it was still functional. They had a tarp over the hole for when it rained, which was all the time since they lived in Seattle, but they were making progress.

Max walked over to Rocky and Bear's apartment and knocked on the door. She hadn't liked having Rocky around at first, but now she couldn't imagine her life without him. Even at 4:30 in the morning she knew he would want to walk around with her and have her back; it might just take a few minutes to get him up.

She had to knock again when Rocky didn't appear after a few minutes. "Rocky, c'mon, up and at'em," Max called out. "If you aren't out here in two minutes, I'm walking around by myself."

"I'm comin', I'm comin'," Rocky grumbled, opening the door and glaring back at her. "Y'know what? I hate your sleep pattern."

"Join the club," Max said with a small smirk. Alec hated how little she slept and she hated that he woke up every time she moved. He loved to sleep, but he was a light sleeper thanks to their training. One creak of the floor board and he could be up and armed in an instant. Luckily, she was light on her feet so she could usually walk around without waking him up.

"Me and Bear should switch for a while," Rocky muttered as they started walking down the stairs. "She claims she sleeps for a week and calls it hibernation, but I don't believe it."

"Does she not sleep at night?" Max asked curiously. She didn't know much about Bear, but she owed Bear everything. Bear found Alec and protected him during the attack; she could've lost Alec without her. But Bear didn't talk to her much; she mostly hung out with Alec or Rocky.

Rocky shrugged, "She does sometimes, but definitely not as much as me."

Maybe Rocky and Bear should switch…Max shook her head at the thought. It would be too weird walking around without Rocky. "Are you hungry? Do you want food before we start working?" Max asked.

"We could just have them send us some food…" Rocky said with a sly smile.

"That's an abuse of power," Max shot back.

"Not of my power," Rocky said. "I'd be abusing your power. There's a difference."

Max laughed and rolled her eyes. "I'm not letting you abuse my power then."

"You take all the fun out of being the leader's bodyguard."

"Well, there's more fun on the way," Max replied with a smile.

Rocky groaned, "If you mean we get to negotiate with Mayor Positivity then I wouldn't call that fun…"

"You sound just like Alec," Max grumbled. "Jason is trying to help us-"

"Yeah, yeah," Rocky waved off. "I've already heard this spiel…"

"C'mon, we're wasting daylight," Max said.

"It's not even 5:00 yet…The sun's not up so we can't be wasting daylight," Rocky argued.

"Then we better get to work before that happens," Max said, smirking back at Rocky, who groaned in response but followed after her.

* * *

"Max," Christy greeted as she walked up. Christy was a new transgenic who had been out on an away mission when Manticore had burned to the ground. She had heard about TC on the news and had slowly been making her way to Seattle. She was a pretty blonde who was really good at finding out information and very blunt in what she thought.

"Hey Christy, what've you got for me today?" Max asked, looking up from her papers to get the report. She had Christy hanging out around TC to pick up on any misgivings or problems in their little community. Max didn't really think of it as spying, but more as trying to find out how to make life better for the transgenics under her care. What she really got was a lot of gossip.

Christy hopped up and sat on the edge of Max's desk. "Tina and Merna are fighting because Tina thinks Merna stole her Chinese food from the fridge. Jenny's pregnant; she just found out yesterday. Peter almost passed out when she told him, but everyone in building C is super excited. There's a support group forming for the ones who lost people during the attack. So far there's only a few going, but it seems like word's getting around. Mole threatened a civilian with a camera who got too close to the fence, but that's pretty normal."

Max chuckled and nodded her agreement; Mole was hotheaded and didn't like ordinaries, but Max knew he wouldn't actually do anything.

"Everyone seems excited about rebuilding," Christy continued after a moment. "They all like working for Alec, so that's good. But Lucky says he's tired, which you probably already knew…"

"Yeah, that one's my fault," Max said, a blush coloring her cheeks.

Christy shrugged, "He could just say no every once in a while if he's too tired to have sex." Rocky snorted out a laugh and Max glared at him.

"That doesn't really sound like him…" Max muttered, looking away in embarrassment.

"Hey, don't be embarrassed about having a sex drive," Christy said. "There's nothing wrong with that."

Max smiled over at Christy, and then asked, "Anything else?"

"Nope, it's a slow day," Christy replied. She suddenly cocked her head to the side, seeing someone walk by the door. "Who's that? I've never seen them around before…"

Max scowled and slowly stood up to see who it was. They were very careful about their new arrivals ever since she and Rocky had been shot by one of White's men pretending to be a new transgenic. Rocky stood up too and quickly stepped in front of her to protect her.

He relaxed after a moment though and turned back to Max and Christy and said, "It's just Logan. He went over to Dix and Luke to do their computer stuff."

"You've never met Logan?" Max asked Christy curiously. Christy shook her head no, so Max motioned for Christy to follow her and said, "C'mon, I'll introduce you."

Max was happy to see Logan; they were still friends even though they weren't together. Actually, they were probably better friends now because they weren't together. The awkwardness that had seemed to hover around them had disappeared and the tension between Alec and Logan was completely gone. It was like everything was right in the world and they could all just be happy.

"Hey Max," Logan said, glancing up briefly as they walked towards him. He did a double take when he saw Christy standing next to her. "Hi, um, I don't think I've ever had the pleasure…"

"Logan, this is Christy, Christy, Logan," Max quickly introduced.

"Nice to meet you," they both said at the same time, and then smiled at the occurrence. Max glanced back at Rocky and he smirked.

"Um, I have to-" Logan said, pointing behind him.

"Yeah, me too," Christy said quickly.

"So, I'll see ya around?" Logan asked shyly.

"I'll be here," Christy replied, a playful smile tugging at her lips. She nodded to Max, and then turned and walked out of Command.

Max smiled at Logan when he looked back at her, but she didn't push him. Instead she asked, "Anything new?"

"Not so far," Logan replied. "I can't find a trail on any of your siblings and none of them have responded to the code I sent out. Not that I expected any of them to respond to that code since they could think it was a trap, but I'm still thinking of ways to get into contact with them."

"Thanks Logan," Max said sincerely. She really wanted to see her siblings again, and she had hoped they would hear about TC and come to her, but none of them had yet. She'd asked Logan a few weeks ago to start up the search again, but she didn't really expect to find anything. Even though they didn't have as much training as the others, they had still been avoiding being captured again for years. They knew what they were doing when it came to staying under the radar.

Logan sat down and started typing away at the computer. He looked up after a second though and asked, "How are things going with you?"

"Good," Max said, "We're getting things rebuilt and setting things up with Jason so we're better than we were last month."

"So, Jason's working out ok so far?"

"Yeah, he got us a lot of medical stuff first thing and now shipments keep coming in with more building supplies. We're not really close to talking about rights, but I think we'll get there."

"That's great, Max," Logan said with a smile.

Rocky brought his hand up suddenly and pressed against his ear. Max's attention was instantly drawn to him. "Copy that. We're on our way," Rocky said after a moment.

"What's going on?" Max asked.

"There was an accident at the work site," Rocky said, starting for the exit.

Max's eyes widened and she quickly ran after him. "Catch ya later, Logan," Max called out over her shoulder.

"What happened? Is anyone hurt?" Max asked in a rush as soon as they were outside of Command. Her mind instantly went to Alec; he practically lived at the work site and he was a magnet for trouble.

"Bear said Alec's fine and no one's hurt," Rocky reassured. "But she said Alec doesn't think it was an accident."

"What?" Max asked, surprised. "What do you mean he doesn't think it was an accident?"

"Why don't we just ask him ourselves," Rocky said with a small smirk.

Max nodded and kept running with Rocky. She was anxious to see for herself that Alec was ok. She'd been so afraid for him when he'd been taken by the General and when he'd made it back to her, she'd been afraid that she was going to hurt him just by touching him. He'd been through so much already and she couldn't bear the thought of losing him.

Alec had his back to her when they finally ran onto the site. He was talking to Lucky and he didn't hear their approach. She glanced briefly at the fallen support beam before she looked back to Alec. The broken cement beneath the beam had her stomach churning, but she ignored that and went over to Alec and touched his shoulder, making him turn in surprise.

"Oh, hey, what're you doing here?" Alec asked curiously.

Max could barely control her eye roll; she loved Alec, but he could be so thick sometimes. "Alec, there was an accident," Max said in exasperation. "And you were in the middle of it."

"Yeah, but I'm fine and no one else is hurt," Alec replied, still confused. "I thought Bear told you that…"

"I'll catch up with you later," Lucky said to Alec with a nod to Max. Alec nodded to Lucky before he turned back to face her.

Max sighed, but she didn't argue with him. Instead, she took the chance to look him over, just to make sure that he really was ok. His clothes were dusty and there was a rip in the knee of his jeans, but otherwise he appeared to be fine. Max put her hands against his chest so she could feel his heart beat.

Alec put his hand over hers and quietly reassured, "Max, I'm fine."

"I know…I just can't get the last month out of my head…" Max said. The sight of his blood pooling on the floor of the Infirmary would haunt her forever. She thought for sure she had lost him.

Alec nodded, but then looked around to see if anyone was near them. He moved closer to her so he could kiss her neck, and then nuzzle against her. "This wasn't an accident, Max…" He breathed against her so only she could hear him. She ran her fingers through his hair to signal that she heard him. "Someone cut the rope…"

He pulled away from her and met her gaze. She wanted to ask him so many questions, but she could tell he wouldn't say any more here. It was too risky, especially if whoever had done this was still around. But there was one thing she needed to know for sure.

Max wrapped her arms around his neck in a surprise hug, "I'm so glad you're ok…" She turned her face towards his neck and breathed him in. "Was it one of ours?"

She released him after that and waited for his answer. He looked uncertain and finally said, "I don't know, Max…"

Max put her hand against his cheek and he leaned into her touch and closed his eyes. "We'll figure it out," Max reassured.

Alec nodded in agreement. He kept his eyes closed for a moment longer before his whole demeanor changed. He slapped on his cocky smile and teased, "You just couldn't stay away from me. That's why you were 'worried'."

Max rolled her eyes; she knew what he was doing and quickly played along, "No, I was actually worried. I didn't want everything to shut down because you wanted to spend another week in the Infirmary."

Alec looked appalled, "You think I want to go back to the Infirmary?! I hate the Infirmary!"

"I don't know, you spend a lot of time there…" Max said slowly.

"Not on purpose," Alec grumbled. "Besides, I've been avoiding that place because Doc's still mad about the whole bomb thing."

"Can you blame him," Max teased.

Alec chuckled, "I guess not."

Max took a deep breath after a moment and took a small step away from Alec. "I guess since you seem to be ok I should go back to work."

"Alright," Alec replied easily.

Max gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and then turned back to Rocky. Together they started walking back to Command, but before she got too far she called back over her shoulder, "Try to be careful!"

"I'm always careful!" Alec called back, and she could hear the smile in his voice.

* * *

"Could you hear us?" Alec whispered to Bear when Max started walking away.

"No, I couldn't hear you and you covered your lips so I couldn't read them," Bear reassured.

"Good," Alec stated. He started walking away from the work site with Bear following close beside him. "We need to find out who did this," Alec muttered, barely moving his lips.

"Any ideas?" Bear asked.

Alec took a deep breath and let it out in a huff, "Could be anyone…"

"We will just have to keep an eye out," Bear said. "Do not go anywhere without me, ok? I have been letting you sneak off some by yourself, but that ends now."

"You knew?" Alec asked surprised. He'd been sneaking out of his bedroom window at night to walk around by himself, but he didn't think Bear had known. He loved having Bear with him, but he still needed some time alone, to walk around and clear his head.

Bear gave him a sly smile, "You will have to work harder than that to get past me." Alec rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head. "Do not feel bad, Alec. I was the best at Manticore. I was trained to be invisible."

"Yeah, I'd say you've done a good job. I had no idea you knew," Alec muttered. He thought for a moment, and then said, "But, since you did know, I'd say you haven't been letting me sneak off by myself. Technically, you've still been keeping an eye on me."

"But you thought you were alone," Bear argued. "It still counts."

Alec rolled his eyes and started walking. The accident would set them back at least a day and he _had_ to find out who was responsible for this. He really hoped it wasn't one of them; he couldn't understand why one of their own would be sabotaging their rebuilding, but he didn't have another explanation for this. He just hoped it was one of White's men or something like that.

Alec huffed and Bear looked over at him curiously. "I was just hoping that this was one of White's plans to kill us again. How messed up is that?"

Bear gave him a sad smile, "That would be the better alternative to it being one of us."

"I know…"

Alec kept walking, further away from the work site and closer to the perimeter fence. He needed to get away from the noise so he could think and figure out which one of them could be behind this. Part of him hoped he was wrong; he didn't want this to be one of them, but he couldn't ignore his feeling.

He stopped walking suddenly; someone was watching him again. They were outside of the fence, that much he knew for sure. He scanned the buildings, windows, rooftops, alleys, anything he could see. He wanted to find this guy and get some answers; he didn't like it when he was being watched.

"What is it?" Bear asked softly. She must have seen him tense up.

"It's that feeling again…" Alec muttered back.

Bear put her hand against his chest and tried to get him to back away from the fence, but he stood his ground. "Alec, please, you should not be out in the open," Bear pleaded.

"I want to find whoever it is, and then I want to get some answers," Alec said without backing away.

Bear huffed and moved so she was slightly in front of him. Alec sighed at her overprotectiveness, but he didn't make her move. Maybe she could find the guy even though he couldn't. Whoever it was watching him, they were good.

Alec frowned; something wasn't right. It wasn't the same feeling as when whoever it was, was watching him; this was different.

He quickly turned away from the fence to look behind him, but then a bullet suddenly tore through his side, knocking him off balance and making him roll with the hit. He dropped down to his knee before he fell back on his butt. He pulled his gun from the back of his pants with one hand while he tried to stop the bleeding with his other.

Bear was next to him in an instant. She grabbed him under his arms and drug him behind the cover of a broken down car before she pulled her gun and looked for the target. She was looking towards the fence though instead of in the direction of TC.

"Bear…came from that way," Alec ground out, nodding towards TC.

She turned the way he directed and scanned for threats from behind cover. Alec dropped his gun since he knew Bear had his back and focused on stopping the bleeding. The bullet had gone through his lower ribs on his left side and had luckily gone straight through. A couple of his ribs were definitely broken, but he hoped none of them had shattered. God, he hated being shot.

Bear crouched down in front of him and tapped his cheek to get his attention. "Alec, we need to move."

Alec nodded his ok; there was no way he was arguing right now. He switched hands on his wound so he could wrap his right arm over Bear's shoulders. She steadied him with her arm around his waist, but then she pressed her hand against the exit wound and he squeaked out in surprise.

Bear kept them going at a steady pace, but she always kept them behind cover. They were going the long way around TC just in case the shooter was still watching them.

"Did you call it in?" Alec asked, slightly breathless.

"No, not yet," Bear answered shortly.

"Good. Don't," Alec muttered, "Max is gonna be so pissed."

"Alec-"

"She's not even close to being over what happened last month and now this? She's never gonna let me leave the apartment again…"

"I do not blame her on that one," Bear said. "You have very bad luck."

Alec stumbled suddenly, but Bear caught him with a hand against his chest. "Did you see anything back there?" Alec asked to distract from the flare of pain throbbing through him.

"No," Bear practically growled. He hated it that he didn't see who this was, but he knew Bear hated it even more, especially now. It was almost possible that she would take him getting shot even harder than Max would. She had claimed herself as his bodyguard and she was going to take this as her own failings. He would have to find a way to convince her that he was just too hard to protect.

Bear stopped when they were only one building away from where the Infirmary was. She helped him to sit down and lean against the side of the building before she peeked around the corner with her gun out. They had a stretch of open ground to cover and Bear wasn't going to take any chances.

Alec was grateful for the break; every step they took sent a spike of pain through him. He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. He didn't care that he was shot, it was an occupational hazard that he was unfortunately used to, but he hated it that one of his friends could be a potential target and he still had no idea who was behind this. He was just lucky that he was the target this time, it could have been Bear, Lucky, Mole, or Rocky, or even worse, Max. He'd rather be the target any day as long as it saved one of his friends.

"Alec," Bear said, suddenly next to him again. "We must move fast to get to the Infirmary. Are you up for it?"

Alec nodded and let Bear help him up. He nearly blacked out at the change in altitude, but he managed to stay conscious and stumble along with Bear's help. They made it to the Infirmary without any problems and Alec breathed out in relief when they slowed down.

"Doc's gonna be so happy to see me…" Alec mumbled, trying hard not to slur.

"It will be like a family reunion," Bear said with a sly smile. "Besides, he has nothing to do when you are not around. He is probably bored out of his mind."

Alec couldn't help his chuckle, but he quickly stopped at the pain in his side.

Bear led the way inside and Alec nearly lost it when he saw Doc. It looked like he was pushing random buttons on a machine in the corner. Bear had been right; he was bored out of his mind.

"Doc, playtime's over," Alec called out, causing Doc to jump in surprise. "I'm back," Alec said almost happily. He hated the situation, but he was glad to see Doc again. He never liked the Infirmary, but Doc had become one of his friends and he hadn't been by to see him in a while. Doc had made it very clear after the bomb in his back incident that he was not allowed to be back in the Infirmary for a long time.

Doc groaned, but Alec could tell he was secretly glad to see him. Doc got up and helped Bear get him over to the closest bed and pushed him back to lay him down, but then propped up the top half of the bed. "Despite what you might think, I'm not happy to see you, Alec," Doc said. He walked away from him to grab a tray of instruments and a pair of gloves before he walked back.

Alec smirked, "I don't believe you."

Doc rolled his eyes, but then became more serious and scanned his side. "What did you get yourself into this time?"

Alec shifted a little on the bed and grumbled, "I got shot, obviously."

Doc tried really hard to not roll his eyes, but he couldn't quite manage it. Doc grabbed scissors off of the tray and quickly cut off his shirt. Alec wanted to stop him from cutting his shirt off, but decided to just drop that one. He'd just have to pick up a replacement shirt on the next supply run he went on.

"How did you get shot?" Doc asked after a moment.

Doc pressed gauze against his bullet wound and Alec hissed in pain and tried to scoot away. Doc kept him in place and Alec ground his teeth to stay quiet.

"Sorry Alec," Doc said as he moved the gauze again to inspect his wound. He looked over at Bear and asked, "Can you grab a blanket and bring it over here?"

Bear nodded and Alec grumbled, "I'm fine…"

"Funny, I feel like I've heard that before," Doc said. "I don't care what you say; I'm not letting you go into shock. And before you say that you aren't going into shock, don't, because you've already lost quite a bit of blood and I'm the doctor and you have to listen to me."

"You were a field medic," Alec shot back.

Doc glared at him, but didn't argue. Bear came back and handed Doc two blankets, which Doc tucked one around his legs and put the other around his shoulders. Alec leaned his head back against the mattress and closed his eyes, letting Doc just do his thing. Doc bustled around him, sticking needles in his arm and putting electrodes against his chest. His heart beat sounded through the room after another minute.

"Where's Max?" Doc asked softly.

"Don't tell her. Not yet," Alec mumbled. He didn't want her to see him like this if he could help it. He loved her and wanted to protect her in whatever way he could.

"Ok, I'll wait until we're all done," Doc reassured. Doc moved around him some more, and then asked, "Alec, how did you get shot?"

"Someone in TC," Alec replied, his voice slurring a little. His adrenaline was running out fast and all he wanted to do was sleep.

"Alec, try to stay awake ok? You can keep your eyes closed, just don't fall asleep," Doc said. Alec nodded, and then Doc asked, "Are you sure it was someone in TC?"

Alec nodded again, "Came from inside the fence. Didn't see the shooter…"

"Alright," Doc placated, and he didn't question him further. He must have known his energy was running out.

"Doc-"

"Don't worry, I won't mention it to anyone," Doc reassured.

Alec nodded and relaxed against the mattress. He knew his pain was about to go sky high, but he was going to enjoy this little break while he could.

"Bear, you'll have to help me hold him up," Doc said after a moment, and then he said, "Alec, we have to clean out the wound and pack it…it's going to hurt…"

"I know," Alec replied. This wasn't the first time he'd been shot and he knew the drill.

"There's a lot of debris in here…" Doc muttered, almost to himself. "We might need to make a trip to the hospital to get some scans…"

"Doc," Alec growled.

"It's not my fault you got shot," Doc pointed out, "And if the Mayor would hurry up and follow through with some of the things we've been promised then we could get the scans done here."

"Not my department," Alec said.

"At least the bullet went straight through," Doc said, gently probing his side. "And you are damn lucky you didn't puncture your lung…your ribs though…"

"Doc, can you just get on with it," Alec asked impatiently, sitting up slightly and glaring at Doc.

"Who's the doctor here? You or me?" Doc asked staring steadily back.

Alec deflated again and let Doc work. It took too much energy to argue anyway and he needed to at least appear to be ok when they finally told Max. She was definitely going to flip out. The only thing he didn't know was if she was going to be more mad that he was hurt again or that he waited so long to tell her.

"Alec, this is going to be very uncomfortable," Doc said, startling him out of his thoughts. Bear lifted his shoulders off of the bed. Alec grumbled a little, but lifted his left arm and rested it against Doc's shoulder to keep it out of the way.

He clenched his jaw to keep from making a sound as Doc flushed out his wound with antibacterial fluid. He knew it needed to be done, but it still hurt. His heart monitor was going crazy and he could feel himself losing consciousness. It was either pass out or cry out in pain, neither one a good option.

"Stay with me Alec, just a little bit longer," Doc murmured.

Bear ran her hand soothingly through his hair, but then tightened her arm around his shoulders when he tried to get away. He fisted his hand in Doc's shirt and tried to breathe through the pain. It was getting to be too much though and a pained moan escaped his lips.

"There we go, that part's done," Doc soothed, stopping his ministrations.

Alec's muscles relaxed almost of their own accord once Doc was finished. Bear lowered him back onto the mattress and Doc moved his left arm from his shoulder and gently placed it on the bed. Doc picked up a towel from the tray and dabbed the sweat from his forehead.

"That part's the worst…" Alec mumbled. He was too tired to even stop Doc from treating him like a child.

"I know," Doc agreed, and then asked, "Do you want me to call Max now?"

"Not yet," Alec breathed out.

"Alec, you know Max doesn't need you to be ok all the time," Doc said softly. "She wants to be there for you, but she can't do that if you don't tell her."

"She has enough going on without piling on my own crap," Alec said. "Besides, if she comes in here while I look like this, she's gonna freak out."

Doc sighed and grabbed gauze to tape over his side and back. "For most patients this would go without saying, but with you…" Doc trailed off and gave him a stern look. "You're staying here tonight."

Alec rolled his eyes and said under his breath, "Worry wart…"

"And I haven't completely ruled out going to the hospital yet," Doc added, ignoring what he said.

He immediately wanted to argue, but he held his tongue. He knew he should save his energy for when Max did get there. She was not going to be happy and he already felt drained. His eyelids felt too heavy to keep open and he really didn't want to fight to stay awake. He gave up after a few more minutes and let his eyes drift shut. He wasn't asleep yet, but he was close.

"Ok, now you can call Max," Doc whispered to Bear. He felt Doc pat his shoulder before he fell asleep completely.

* * *

 _More soon..._


	3. Chapter 3

_Sorry for the long wait, but I hope you all like it!_

* * *

"Oh Alec," Max breathed out as she ran into the Infirmary. Alec was pale, his breathing was shallow, and he didn't even stir when she and Rocky ran in. Bear was standing protectively over him, but she stepped away slightly to let Max get a good look at him.

Alec's eyes fluttered open for a second before he closed them again. He must have heard her voice and tried to wake up, but he just didn't have the energy.

"He's ok, Max," Doc said softly. "He lost some blood, but I think he just needs rest. And he'll have to take it easy again for a while because a few of his ribs, but other than that he should be ok."

Max walked forward and sat by Alec's hip. She brushed his hair off of his forehead and trailed her fingers down his arm to hold his hand.

"Hey Maxie," Alec slurred.

"You just can't stay out of the line of fire, can you?" Max asked; she tried to go for playful, but it hurt to see Alec like this. He had just recovered, and now he was back in the Infirmary.

"Someone's gotta help out with target practice," Alec teased. He managed to get his eyes open and she couldn't help but smile; he had the most beautiful green eyes she had ever seen. She used to hate his eyes since they were Ben's eyes too, but Alec's eyes were different from Ben's. Alec had a playful, almost mischievous, glint in his eyes. Ben's eyes had been cold and full of fear the last time she'd seen him.

"Don't even joke about that," Max said with a huff.

"'M not jokin', Maxie," Alec replied seriously.

"It came from inside the fence," Bear supplied. "It was one of ours."

"Or someone made it past the fence," Max argued, refusing to believe one of their own could be against them. She wanted them to all live together and be able to make their own decisions, but shooting one of their own was crossing the line. And they had shot Alec, which was one of the worst things they could have done.

"You really think someone would want to sneak past Mole?" Rocky asked.

Max really couldn't see anyone being _able_ to sneak past Mole, but she still wanted to believe the best of people, especially her own people.

"We need to get a meeting together. Mole, Logan, Dix, Luke, Christy, Lucky, and Joshua for now," Max said. "We need to get a plan together to find out who's behind this and find a way to stop it."

* * *

Alec ignored the pain so he could sit up slightly in bed. He knew they needed to get things set in place, but he was worn out. Max had told him that he didn't need to be awake for this, but he didn't like being out of the loop. He needed to know what was going on and he needed to give his report on what had happened so everyone else was up to speed.

"Hey man," Lucky said with a small smile as he walked in. He sat down on the bed next to his, and then stretched out. "Wasn't that long ago we were neighbors in here."

Alec huffed, "Yeah, and you got released before me. Three bullet holes and you were still released before me."

"I'm just _'Lucky'_ I guess," Lucky replied with a smirk.

Alec rolled his eyes, "Dude, shut up."

"What? It's true," Lucky replied with a laugh. "You even said so yourself."

Alec ignored him and shifted his attention to Max who had squeezed his hand. She was sitting next to him on his bed; both of her hands were holding one of his. She had been rubbing circles on the back of his hand, but had stopped to give him a gentle squeeze. She smiled at him when he looked over at her, but her smile didn't reach her eyes.

He knew she hated to see him hurt, but she was trying to cover it up. He almost wished he hadn't gotten shot, but at the same time someone else could've gotten hurt if he hadn't. He was fine and he just had to find out who was behind this before someone else got hurt.

"Medium fella hurt again?" Joshua asked as he came into the room.

"I'm alright, Josh," Alec reassured. "It's just a graze."

Joshua didn't look convinced, but he walked in and sat on the bed on his other side with Rocky and Bear. Logan and Christy came in at the same time and asked him how he was doing before they sat down on a bed across from him. Dix and Luke sat near them, and then they were just waiting on Mole.

"Can someone radio him again?" Max asked impatiently. "Tell him that we're gonna start without him if he doesn't hurry up."

"Untwist your panties, Princess, I'm here," Mole grumbled, walking around the corner. Mole gave him a quick once over, and then huffed, "You just don't know how to dodge a bullet, do ya?"

Alec glared, "I wasn't expecting someone to shoot at me from inside the fence."

Mole looked surprised to hear this, "Alright, I'll give ya this one."

Max sighed and gave him a halfhearted glare, "I was going to ease them into this information."

Alec shrugged, "It's just easier to get it over with."

"You're serious?" Lucky asked, slowly sitting up. "One of our own shot you? I thought it was someone outside the fence…"

Alec shook his head no, "And that accident at the site wasn't actually an accident either."

"Shit…" Lucky breathed out.

"So, we need to find out who's behind this and take care of the situation before someone else gets hurt," Max stated.

Alec started to lose the conversation as they went around on who would do what. He knew that Dix and Luke would do the computer stuff and Logan would help them with that, Christy would go around and try to find out who was behind it with any of her connections, Mole was going to up security, Lucky was going to take over the work site for a while, and Josh was going to see if he could find out anything from the transhumans.

He hadn't realized that he had closed his eyes until someone shook his shoulder and his eyes flew open. "What's wrong?" Alec asked, panicked.

Max put her hand against his chest and reassured, "Nothing's wrong. We just…I just wanted to know if you wanted to sleep at the house tonight?"

"Is Doc cool with that?" Alec mumbled.

Max smiled, "Yeah, he wants you out of here before something else can happen to you."

"Or, Logan said Dr. Carr would see you…" Doc threw in. "I still think we need a scan of your side to make sure…"

"Doc, I'm fine," Alec reassured. "I would know if something was wrong."

"Would you tell me if something was wrong?" Doc asked.

Alec smiled and shook his head no. "But Max would figure it out."

Max stroked his cheek, "There's no doubt about it. And if something is wrong then you will be going to Dr. Carr."

"So bossy," Alec said with a smirk.

Max gave him a quick kiss, "Yes I am. Now answer the question. Do you want to sleep here or at home?"

"Home," Alec instantly replied.

"Ok, let's go home," Max said softly.

* * *

Max decided to take the next few days off. She knew Alec was ok, but she wanted to be with him and she knew Mole could take care of things for a couple of days. He'd taken care of things when she had taken a few days off last time and he could do it again for a couple of days.

The first day Alec slept for most of the day. She stayed in bed with him since she knew he slept better when she was there and he liked to cuddle. He didn't cuddle right then, but normally she had to push him off of her because he was always so hot.

"Hey," Alec whispered, suddenly waking up again.

"Hey," Max replied. Alec shifted, but then winced at the movement. She put her hand against his chest to stop him from moving again. "Just relax," Max told him.

"Bathroom break," Alec breathed out.

Max instantly got up and helped him get up too. He let her help him, which was way different than the first time he was hurt. His knee had been busted, but it was a fight for every little thing. They'd come a long way since then.

Alec had to sit down on the edge of the tub once he was done; he was worn out from their short trip, and he couldn't hide that fact.

"What's our awesome plan for our day off?" Alec asked; his voice was weak, but he was trying to distract her.

"I was thinking we could rest some more," Max said, going for a convincing smile.

"You're no fun," Alec said with a smirk. "We hardly ever have time off."

"This isn't a vacation, Alec. This is recovery time because you got shot," Max replied, running her fingers through his hair.

"I at least vote that we move to the living room where the TV is…" Alec said. He glanced up at her through his lashes, and she couldn't say no to that. "And, I would like to use your lap as a pillow."

Max smiled, "I think that can be arranged."

"Then what're we waitin' for?" Alec said sarcastically. "Let's get this resting started."

Max rolled her eyes and slowly helped him up. "You do know that you've been asleep for an entire day, right?"

"I think it's more like a day and a half," Alec corrected.

Max eased him onto the sofa, and then lifted his shoulders so she could sit down and rest him against herself. "You have a lot of freckles, did you know that?" Max asked, tracing her finger over his nose. "They're cute…"

"My freckles are cute?" Alec asked with a smile as he grabbed her hand and kissed her fingers.

"Yes, they're very cute," Max replied. Alec took in a sharp breath as a spike of pain with through him. "Do you want some of the painkillers Doc sent with us?"

"No, I'm alright," Alec said, closing his eyes. Max ran her fingers through his hair to try and give him some comfort. He always liked it when she messed with his hair, so hopefully this helped at least a little.

She turned on the TV to give him something to help distract him, and it seemed to work. He dozed off after a few minutes and she tried to pay attention to what was on the TV, but it was too hard. She just wanted to know who was behind this; she wanted to be able to keep her people safe.

"Could you stop thinking so loud? You're making it difficult to sleep," Alec mumbled.

"Then stop paying attention," Max shot back.

Alec opened his eyes and halfheartedly glared at her, but he softened after a moment and said, "Max, we'll figure out who's behind this. It just takes some time…"

"And suddenly you're the patient one," Max grumbled.

"I've always been the patient one compared to you. Also the more reasonable one and-"

"The more reckless one," Max cut in. Alec looked like he was about to argue, but she stopped him, "I'm not the one who was tortured and almost killed over a bunch of romance novels."

"How was I supposed to know that's what was in the box? You would've wanted to know what was in the box too!" Alec exclaimed. "Besides, Bear really likes what we found and has a whole bunch of them stashed in her apartment."

"Well good for Bear," Max whispered, leaning forward to give Alec a kiss.

She always loved kissing Alec; he felt right, like they were supposed to be together. She could kiss him all day, but he pulled back after a minute and said, "This is what I was talking about when I asked what we were gonna do today."

Max smiled and shook her head. "You're ridiculous."

* * *

Max had to go back to work the next day, so he had new babysitters to hang out with. Bear stayed with him all day, but Joshua, Lucky, Dix and Luke, and even Mole came to visit him. They had a good routine from the last time he was home ridden, so he had visitors throughout the day.

He slept through some of the visits and he sometimes fell asleep in the middle, but no one made a big deal about it. Except for Mole, but that was to be expected.

"This is my third visit today," Mole grumbled. "You were asleep the first time, which was ok since it was pretty early. The next time you fell asleep, which was annoying. Could you try to keep it together this time?"

"I'll do my best, Mole," Alec said, trying to hide his smile.

"Good, 'cause I'm takin' time out of my busy schedule to do this out of the kindness of my heart," Mole said. "No one ordered me to come here."

Alec chuckled, "I get that."

Alec was lounging on the sofa and Mole was standing in the doorway looking slightly lost. "You want some food or something…"

"Mole, just sit down," Alec said, pointed to the recliner. Bear was watching him from the kitchen, waiting to see if he actually did want something to eat or not. He shook his head at her, silently telling her that he was ok for now.

"Maybe I liked it better when you fell asleep…" Mole said as he walked to the recliner.

"We don't have to talk…" Alec muttered. "The TV's on, we can watch that…Or, you don't have to stay if you don't want to. Max just thought I was going to be lonely so she set all this up. I probably would've slept all day if she hadn't set this up."

"No, it's good for you to stay awake for a little while," Mole said, nodding.

"Any ideas yet?" Alec asked. He wanted to get as much information as he could since he couldn't be in the field to get it himself. And Mole would know pretty much everything that was going on. Even though they'd had a rough start with Mole, he'd really stepped up to be a great leader. Alec trusted Mole with his life now and he trusted him to protect them all.

"We searched everywhere the shooter could've been, but since it was one of us there's nothin' left behind. There's no trace of who could've done it," Mole said.

Alec nodded, "I thought so…" He thought for a moment, and then decided to just come right out and ask, "No one can get in, right?"

Mole scowled, "Not without me knowin' about it. Why?"

Alec shot Bear a quick glance and she nodded. "I think someone's been watching me."

"Security's already thin, but no one's gettin' in without my say so," Mole reassured. Alec nodded again, but then Mole said, "I'm not lettin' anything in here, kid, I promise."

"I trust you," Alec replied. "I'm just bein' paranoid, that's all."

"Well, gettin' shot…again…does that to ya," Mole said.

"Makes ya tired too…" Alec mumbled, starting to feel drowsy again. He felt bad needing to sleep so much, but the more he slept, the faster he would get back on his feet.

"I'll just complain a little bit if ya fall asleep on my time again," Mole said.

Alec smiled and snuggled down a little more against his pillow. "You're all heart, Mole…"

"Damn straight, kid."

* * *

Alec was asleep again by the time she finally made it home. He was still on the sofa and Bear was sitting in the recliner reading. Max smiled when she saw that Bear was reading one of the romance novels that Alec had been talking about.

"He slept most of the day," Bear said without looking up. "Doc stopped by and decided he was going to live. He should only be down for a week at most as long as he rests."

"And there's the tricky part," Max muttered. It was impossible to keep Alec is one spot for that long; she was surprised he agreed to stay on the sofa for today.

"He was good today," Bear said. "He did not try to talk his way out of anything."

"Thanks Bear," Max said sincerely.

Bear smiled a little as she stood up, "I will be back tomorrow."

Max nodded and Bear left. Max kissed Alec's forehead before she walked to the kitchen. She was starving; today they did nothing except look for who was behind shooting Alec. But they didn't have very much luck. They were trained too well and they didn't have any leads on who it could be.

She needed to find out who was behind this though. She needed to protect her people and she couldn't do that if she had no idea who it was. She couldn't believe that one of their own would want to hurt them. They'd been through too much and now they had this to worry about. It wasn't right.

"Hey, you're home," Alec said sleepily, pushing himself up.

Max smiled and nodded, "They practically forced me out the door. I think I was annoying them…"

"I don't believe it," Alec said with a smirk.

Max rolled her eyes and walked back over to him, "How're you feeling?"

"I'm good…Just tired," Alec replied. "I've been sleepin' most of the day, but I'm still tired."

"Healing takes a lot out of you," Max reassured. "As long as you keep resting though, you'll heal faster."

Alec huffed, "You're spinnin' that story again? You know that doesn't really work on me."

"One week, that's all I'm asking," Max tried to bargain.

"I'm not staying on this sofa for a week," Alec immediately shot down.

"Alec," Max sighed.

"No Max. I'll take it easy, but I'm not staying in here for a week."

Max frowned, but she decided she would pick this argument back up tomorrow. She didn't believe Alec would actually take it easy if he left the apartment. He would want to help with the rebuilding or help look for who was behind this and that would put him in danger again. But she knew he wasn't going to back down right now. He had his stubborn look firmly planted on his face and it would be a waste of time to argue with him right now.

"Are you hungry?" Max asked to change the subject.

Alec shook his head no, "Bear made me eat a ton of soup today." Max made a face; she was glad that Bear had him eat, but soup sounded disgusting right now. "It wasn't so bad," Alec said. "But tomorrow I'm hopin' for something a little more substantial."

Max smiled and reached out to stroke his cheek. He closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. She was just about to ask him if he wanted to move to the bed when Mole suddenly busted through their door.

"Max! I need you at the gate," Mole said in a rush.

"For what?" Max asked, slowly standing up.

"I've got two transgenics at the gate that say they know you and they wanna talk to you," Mole said.

Max frowned in confusion, "Who?" She looked over at Alec and he shrugged back at her.

"They said their names were Zane and Jondy," Mole replied.

Max's mouth dropped open in shock. She had wanted her brothers and sisters to make their way here and now it was possible that two of them had. She wanted to sprint to the gate and see for herself if it was them, but the thought of leaving Alec stopped her.

She looked back at him again and he immediately urged, "Go, I'll be ok."

"This is touching and all, but we don't got all day," Mole grumbled.

"Shut up, Mole," Max growled. She softened, and then promised Alec, "I'll be right back, ok?"

Alec smiled, "Get goin' already."

Max couldn't help her own smile as she took off for the door. Zane and Jondy could be here; she was just moments away from finding out if her brother and sister had found her.

* * *

 _More soon..._


	4. Chapter 4

_Sorry it has been a long time since this story was updated, but it is finally back. Just to recap, Alec's been shot by one of their own, but he's in recovery, and Max's brother and sister had just shown up. Hope you guys like it!_

* * *

"Are you…nervous?" Rocky asked in confusion as they got closer to the gate. Mole had gone ahead of her so she could pick up Rocky. She was regretting that now since he was making everything worse.

Max tried to smooth out the wrinkles of her shirt, but it wasn't working. "No…I mean, maybe…does this shirt look too wrinkly? I should've changed first, but this was my only clean shirt…"

Rocky cocked his head to the side and took just a moment too long to answer. "It's not that bad…"

"I knew it! I knew it was too wrinkly. Maybe we should go back and I can change really quick and make sure Alec's still on the sofa or maybe just take Alec with me. He could calm me down and he'd be really good at covering up any awkward silences. He always covers up really awkward silences. And he could-"

"Stop your rambling?" Rocky cut in. "Or maybe he could stay on the sofa just like you told him to and we can go meet your friends." Max glared at him, but couldn't argue. "And your shirt's fine. It's better than most of the shirts around here. There's not even blood on that one."

"Your pep talks suck," Max grumbled.

"These two were in your unit, right?" Rocky asked.

"Yeah, they were like my brother and sister. My whole unit was like a family," Max replied.

"And you haven't seen them since you escaped," Rocky guessed. Max nodded and tried to smooth down her shirt again. Rocky grabbed her hand to stop her and said, "Then they won't care about your wrinkly shirt, ok?"

Max took a deep breath and nodded again.

"Finally," Mole growled once they got there.

"Where are they?" Max asked impatiently.

Mole rolled his eyes and started walking away from them. Max ran to catch up and held her breath. Mole stepped to the side and Max finally got to see her brother and sister. And she was surprised to see a dog sitting next to them too.

Zane was tall and handsome, with short brown hair and warm eyes. He smiled just a little, but his smile grew and recognition lit his eyes. He lightly smacked the girl's back who was standing next to him and she quickly whirled around. She was already smiling and Max instantly knew it was really Jondy. She still had big eyes and her short, choppy haircut was just right for her.

"Max!" Jondy exclaimed.

Max couldn't help her squeal of excitement, and then she was running towards them. She threw her arms around both of them and said, "You guys made it!"

They hugged her back and they stood like that for a minute until she pulled back and said, "You really do have a dog…"

Zane smiled, "Yeah, his name's Shep…Not the most creative considering he's a German Shepard, but he's been my dog for a few years now. He's great."

Max wasn't so sure; she wasn't a big fan of dogs, but she trusted Zane.

"He is actually pretty nice," Jondy said.

"But she took a while to get used to him too," Zane said. "But he's a great watch dog." Max nodded and decided she would give the dog a chance.

Rocky cleared his throat suddenly. "Max, I think we should move indoors. We're too exposed out here…"

Max nodded and turned to follow Rocky. Zane and Jondy walked on either side of her, but Jondy gave her a curious look. "This is Rocky," Max quickly introduced. "He's kinda my bodyguard."

"Seriously?" Zane asked, surprised.

"It's a long story," Max muttered.

"We're not planning on going anywhere," Jondy said.

Max smiled and decided to start from the top.

* * *

"Bear!" Alec called out after Max had been gone for more than an hour. He knew Bear would hear him and he really needed her help. She was there in an instant, looking for whatever threat had caused him to call out.

"What is it?" Bear asked when she didn't see any threats.

"Will you help me get some clothes and go down to Command?" Alec asked.

"Why?" Bear asked slowly.

"Mole came in and told Max that Zane and Jondy were here and I assume they're from her unit from back in the day and she's been gone for a long time and I wanna make sure everything's ok," Alec said in a rush.

"Alec, I do not think you should be moving that much," Bear said with a frown.

"I'll do it without your help," Alec warned.

"Fine," Bear said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Let's see how far you get without me."

Alec stubbornly pushed himself up off of the sofa. He swayed and tried to bring the room into focus; it took a minute, but he managed to stay standing. "See…no problem," Alec whispered breathlessly.

"You are an idiot," Bear grumbled, reaching out to steady him. "A stubborn idiot."

"You know you love me," Alec said. He was going for cocky, but he knew he sounded pathetic.

"Max will be back soon," Bear tried to reassure

"I'm fine," Alec said, his voice a little stronger this time. "Um, I kinda wanna save what little strength I have…can you get me some jeans and my hoodie?"

"Alec…"

"I can't meet them lookin' like I've lived off of a sofa for the last couple days," Alec cut off. "And I'm giving a little by already agreeing to the hoodie."

"Fine," Bear snarled. "But sit down while I get them."

"Yes ma'am," Alec said. He sank back onto the sofa and thought he wasn't going to be able to get back up. But he had to be there.

"Alec, you look even worse than before," Bear said, suddenly back in front of him.

"Bear, I have to go," Alec said almost desperately.

"Rest for a moment, I'll be right back," Bear said.

"What? Where're you going?" Alec asked. But Bear was already leaving the apartment.

Alec leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He couldn't do this without Bear. He knew he wouldn't get far even with Bear's help, but he was good at putting on an act. Once he got to Max, he could do anything.

"Aww, c'mon man, you look like shit," Lucky suddenly said. "You can't go walkin' around lookin' like that."

Alec's eyes flew open and he gave Lucky a small smile. "Shut up." Bear walked in behind Lucky and he glared at her.

She smirked and said, "I thought Lucky might be able to talk some sense into you. Or at the very least, he would be able to help me drag you to the Infirmary when it came down to it."

"This is stupid," Lucky said. "You're being stupid right now."

"And, it's fun to hear other people call you stupid besides me," Bear said.

"If you're not gonna help, then you can both leave," Alec grumbled.

"You can't get rid of me that easily," Lucky said. "Besides, you're my in for meeting the new people before anyone else." Lucky reached out and helped him stand up, "But seriously dude, you look like shit."

"Just get me some different clothes and I'll look a lot better," Alec ground out. They were wasting time. They were probably hoping that he was going to pass out, and then they could forget about dragging him where he wanted to go.

Bear sighed, but left the room. She came back a few seconds later carrying the clothes he asked for. He changed with just a little help, and then he was ready.

"Alright, you look a little better," Lucky relented. "But still not great."

"Let's just go. Fresh air will do me good."

* * *

"Max, you look great!" Zane said. They had moved to Command so she could show them around. She was so excited that they were here. "And this place is amazing!" Zane continued.

"We heard Manticore was destroyed and I knew it was you," Jondy said.

"I just wish we could've gotten here sooner," Zane said. "Looks like something big went down and we should've been here to help."

"We got here as soon as we could," Jondy said.

"We've had some bad run-ins with some transgenic haters trying to get here," Zane said.

"Well, you're here now," Max reassured. "And I'll be sure to have an apartment set up for you, but you guys might have to share. And at some point we'll find something for you guys to do. I'm not even sure what you like to do, but we'll find something."

"I'm happy to help anywhere," Zane said.

They turned the corner to the main part of Command, but she stopped short. Alec was standing in the middle of the room surrounded by a ton of people. Bear and Lucky were both next to him, so at least he didn't walk across TC by himself.

"Max, everything ok?" Zane asked.

"Um, I'll be right back, ok?" Max asked back. She didn't wait for an answer before she started for Alec. He smiled when he saw her, but she just glared back. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I just wanted to meet your friends," Alec said innocently.

"Doc's orders were for you to rest. This isn't resting," Max growled. "And I was going to bring them around after a while. They might even be staying with us for a while."

"I just want to meet them," Alec said.

"And I told you that I was going to bring them to you."

"Well, I saved you a trip," Alec said with a smirk.

Max sighed and grabbed his arm. "Fine. You can meet them, and then go back to resting."

"Ow! Max, loosen the death grip on my arm," Alec complained.

Max rolled her eyes, but loosened her grip. "Sorry, but you're being stupid. It's been two days since you were shot and-"

"I'm not doing anything too crazy," Alec defended. "I walked down here with Bear and Lucky's help. I didn't pass out and I didn't pull any stitches. I'm doin' pretty good."

"You can meet them, and then you need to go back to bed. And I mean bed, not the sofa. That's the deal, take it or leave it," Max said.

"Fine," Alec breathed out. Max started marching him over to Zane and Jondy, but she stopped again and turned towards him. "Max, what is it?"

"I'm nervous again," Max admitted. "I really want them to like you. And I'm worried that they'll think you're Ben. And I really want you to like them…And Zane has a dog and I'm not sure how you feel about dogs…"

"It's gonna be fine," Alec reassured, rubbing her arms. "I'm the most charming person I know. And Joshua is part dog and even though I'm part cat we still get along." Max huffed and gave him a playful slap to the back of his head. He laughed and said, "So quit stalling and take me over there so I can get back to resting."

"Ok, c'mon," Max said. She grabbed his hand this time and walked over to Zane and Jondy.

Zane's eyes widened slightly when he saw Alec and he asked, "Ben?" That was fast. She hadn't wanted them to think that Alec was Ben, but their eyes were so striking, it was impossible not to think Alec was Ben. Alec stiffened slightly, but she wasn't sure if it was because he'd been mistaken for his twin again or because he'd caught sight of the dog.

Alec cleared his throat and smiled, "Actually no. I'm Alec." He stuck out his hand and Zane instantly shook it. "Ben and I were twins."

"Were?" Jondy asked, looking between her and Alec.

"Ben didn't make it," Max whispered. Alec squeezed her hand to try to comfort her and she squeezed back. "But Alec's amazing." She looked over at Alec and smiled, and when she looked back to her brother and sister she saw knowing looks on both of their faces.

"And we're definitely together," Alec said. "It's not weird because I wasn't part of the family unit so…it's complicated, but-"

"He's really not like Ben and we don't have the brother sister feeling," Max tried to explain. "But anyway, um, Alec, this is Zane and Jondy."

Alec shook Jondy's hand and said, "Nice to meet both of you."

"And now he's going to go back to bed because he got shot two days ago," Max said. "You guys can get to know each other later because you're going to stay with us until we can get you an apartment."

Zane nodded, "Sounds like a plan to me."

"Bear," Max called out, and Bear was next to her almost instantly. "Help him get home and don't let him move again."

"Max-"

"We had a deal."

They stared at each other, silently battling to see who was going to win. She wasn't going to back down though and he should know that. He was just lucky that she hadn't kicked him out sooner. He needed to be in bed and resting and there was no point for him to be wearing himself out like this. Alec sighed but finally nodded and left with Bear.

"Ok, so, let's get back to the tour," Max said.

* * *

"Ok, one of you can have the sofa and the other one can have my room," Max said from the other room.

Alec rubbed his eyes and slowly pushed himself up. His side hurt and he was exhausted from moving so much earlier. He'd pushed it a little too far and he knew it, but it felt good to actually walk around.

"I'll take the sofa. Jondy, you can have Max's room," Zane said.

"Where's Alec?" Jondy asked. Alec could hear the small smile in her voice and he imagined Max was blushing.

"Oh, um, he's in his room," Max said, confirming what he thought. She even sounded embarrassed. "Or, at least, he better be,"

He tried to twist to get another pillow, but quickly gave up. That hurt too much so he just lay back down. He could feel his eyes starting to droop shut again, but he forced them back open. He wished Max would hurry up so he could see her before he went back to sleep.

"Hey," Max whispered when she finally came in. "You're awake."

"Barely," Alec breathed out.

Max got into bed next to him. He thought she was going to lay down and sleep with him, but instead, she pulled down the covers and lifted up his shirt.

"Max," Alec grumbled, trying to scoot away from her. "I just wanna sleep."

"Knock it off," Max said. "This is what you get for walking around TC when you weren't supposed to."

"I'm fine," Alec said.

"You're not fine," Max argued. "Your side is on fire…"

"I don't have an infection if that's what you're thinking," Alec said. "I just…I did too much and now I'm worn out."

He expected Max to say I told you so, but she didn't. "I'm going to get some ice."

Alec tried to protest, but she was gone before he could. He closed his eyes and waited for her to get back. His eyes flew open again and he glared at Max when she put the ice against his side.

"Don't even start," Max said before he could complain.

"I hate ice," Alec muttered.

"You mean you hate being cold. You don't actually hate ice," Max corrected.

"Whatever. Can I go to sleep yet?"

"No, I want to talk to you. My brother and sister are here and I want to tell you all about them," Max said.

"Ok, I'm listening. Just wake me up if I fall asleep, ok?" Alec mumbled.

"Ok," Max said happily. She rested her head on his chest, but kept the ice against his side. "So, Zane's been working as a mechanic in Los Angeles, but he's been wandering around for about a year."

"What's up with the dog?" Alec asked sleepily. "I know I said I was good with it, but it's the same kind of dog from Manticore…Wasn't expecting that…"

"I know," Max said. "But he says you get used to it. I hope he's right because right now we have a dog sleeping in our living room."

"He better not be on the furniture," Alec grumbled.

Max laughed at him, but then changed the subject, "And Jondy was working in San Francisco as a waitress in a bar. She said the money was good, but she's glad to be out. She wandered around until her and Zane ran into each other a few months ago. Then they decided to come here."

"Mmm," Alec hummed. "'M glad they're here too…"

Max smiled and said, "Ok, you can go to sleep."

"M'kay Maxie…"

She kissed his shoulder and he was asleep again almost instantly.

But he didn't stay asleep for long. Max was moving around and he knew she couldn't sleep. She was too excited about her brother and sister being there.

"I'm going to see if Jondy's awake," Max whispered to him. "She has shark DNA too so she's usually awake at the same time as me." She kissed his cheek, and then moved over and kissed his lips. That woke him up a little. He started to kiss her back, but she pulled away and rested her hand on his chest. "That's it until you heal…"

He groaned, but she was already gone.

He fell asleep again and woke up a few hours later. He was ready for a change of scenery so he slowly got up. He forgot they had guests until he got to the living room. Zane wasn't in the room, but his dog was.

The dog was just sitting and watching him. He took the long way around the sofa so he could avoid the dog and sat down. The dog just kept staring at him.

"I get it. You're a dog and I'm a cat and we just shouldn't get along," Alec said. He hoped Bear would come over soon so he wouldn't be stuck talking to the dog all day. "Just stay over there and we'll get along great…"

He turned to stretch out across the sofa. He turned on the TV and tried to focus on what was on, but the dog walked closer to him and sat down again.

"I don't know what you want, so cut it out," Alec grumbled.

The dog scooted closer and cocked its head to the side. Alec sighed and slowly reached out for the dog's collar. He turned the dog tag so he could read it.

"Shep, huh?" Alec said. He held out his hand and the dog put his paw in his hand like he was shaking it. Alec chuckled, "Nice to meet you Shep. My name's Alec." Shep scooted closer; Alec rolled his eyes, but scratched Shep's ears. "I feel like a crazy person talking to you, you know that?"

Shep turned around, and Alec almost thought he was watching TV. But that was ridiculous.

"You're not so bad for a dog I guess," Alec muttered. "As long as you stay off of the furniture, I guess you can stay…"

Shep looked back at him and he sighed, but started petting him again. Shep's fur was soft and he eventually fell back asleep.

He startled awake when the door opened. He felt a weight against his leg and he looked down to see that Shep was curled up at his feet and he'd put his paw protectively over his leg. "I told you that the furniture was off limits," Alec said. Shep whined and Alec rolled his eyes. "Fine, you can stay."

"Alec, why are you talking to a dog?" Bear asked from the doorway.

"Shep. His name is Shep," Alec said.

"That doesn't explain why you are talking to him," Bear said.

"You'd be surprised. He's very receptive," Alec said. "If you introduce yourself, he'll even shake your hand. It's pretty cool."

Bear sighed, "I do not like dogs." Shep growled at her and she glared back.

"No one at Manticore liked the dogs," Alec pointed out. "The dogs bit and chased you. They were scary, but Shep's ok." Shep rested his chin on his leg and relaxed again.

"Where is your company?" Bear asked.

Alec shrugged, "I don't know. I woke up and they were gone."

They both looked to the door again as it was being opened and Shep put his paw back on his leg.

"Hey," Zane said with a smile. "Max was worried that you and Shep wouldn't be getting along, but it looks like he really likes you."

"Yeah, he's easy to like," Alec said.

"Especially once you start talking to him," Zane said. "He's super smart. It's like he knows what you're saying"

"Yeah, except when you tell him that he's not allowed on the furniture," Alec said.

"Sorry about that…"

"It's cool. He can stay," Alec reassured.

"Is it ok if I hang out for a while?" Zane asked.

"Sure," Alec easily replied. He started to sit up to make room, but Zane waved him off. "Sorry, I've kinda taken over your whole bed…"

"It's alright, this chair looks pretty comfortable too," Zane said.

"I'll be back in a little while," Bear said before she left the apartment.

"Bear's my babysitter," Alec said.

Zane chuckled, "Max mentioned that, but she said she was more of your bodyguard instead of babysitter. And she said that Bear saved your life more than once."

"Yeah…I'm kind of a magnet for trouble," Alec admitted.

"Yeah, you got shot, right?"

"Yup," Alec said. "Which is why I'm stuck here instead of going out and doing something."

"Probably why Shep's being so protective over you too," Zane said. "He always knows when I'm hurt, and then he won't leave my side."

"What was Max doing?" Alec asked.

"Her, Jondy, and Rocky were working at the gym site when I left," Zane said.

Alec sighed; he should be there to help. He knew he couldn't do much, but he felt so useless just sitting on the sofa.

"It's your eyes," Zane suddenly said. Alec looked over at him in confusion so he said, "You and Ben have the same eyes."

Alec nodded, "I guess I look just like him. I've been mistaken for him more than once." He didn't want to mention that he'd been picked up for Ben's killing spree. Ben was like a brother to Zane and he didn't want to ruin what Zane thought of him.

"Max really likes you and I can see why," Zane said. Alec frowned; this guy had only talked to him for a few minutes, how would he know why Max liked him. Hell, he didn't even know why Max liked him. "Max told us what happened with Ben. And she told us that you'd been picked up for his murders."

"I didn't want to tell you about that…" Alec muttered.

"Which is why I like you," Zane said. "But I gotta tell you…"

"What?"

"If you hurt her, I'll have to kill you," Zane warned.

Alec smiled, "And there's the big brother speech I was waiting for."

Zane laughed, "Yeah, but I think you're gonna be alright." Zane got a little more comfortable, and then asked, "So, what're we watching?"

Alec frowned, "You really want to stay here and hang out with me? I'm not allowed to do anything and it's incredibly boring."

"Hey, I'm thinking you're my future brother-in-law so I'm prepared to hang out for a very long time," Zane said.

"Alright, that is an acceptable answer," Alec said with a smile. He snuggled down on the sofa and slowly started to relax. "I'm sorry in advance if I fall asleep. Some people are cool with it, but it really pisses Mole off."

"You're cool," Zane replied. "It was a long trip up here up and I might take a nap myself."

Alec huffed out a laugh and closed his eyes.

* * *

 _More soon..._


	5. Chapter 5

"Alec, I'm thrilled that you and Zane's dog get along so well, but does he have to seriously sleep in our bed with us?" Max asked, getting into bed next to him. Shep was curled up at his feet, but he raised his head when Max spoke.

"Zane said Shep wouldn't leave my side until I was healed," Alec absentmindedly replied. He scribbled some notes into the little notebook he had. He was trying to figure out how long it was going to take to finish the gym since they had to fix the support beam and the concrete that had cracked.

"I thought you didn't even want him on the furniture," Max grumbled. She scooted closer to him and he snuggled down next to her. He tossed the notebook on the nightstand and turned off the lamp.

"I like having him around," Alec admitted. "I don't have nightmares when he's around and you're gone."

Max sat up, reached over him, turned on the light, and looked at him, "You have nightmares when I leave?"

Alec hesitated, "I did, but with Shep around I don't." He turned the light off again, but Max immediately turned it back on and he sighed.

"Alec…you know Zane's going to take Shep with him when we find him and Jondy an apartment," Max said.

"I know…" Alec muttered, keeping his eyes glued to the sheets. He didn't know what he was going to do when Zane took Shep back. He was used to having the dog hang out with him all day and it was going to be too weird to not have him in his apartment. Shep's paw settled over his leg like he knew he was unhappy.

"Alec, maybe we could see if Zane will let him stay with us for a while or we could have Zane be our roommate or something," Max said. "…Or…we could get a dog if you wanted…"

He and Shep both gave her sharp looks and he said, "I don't want another dog."

"Just think about it," Max said. "How's your side?" Max asked, changing the subject.

"Hurts," Alec replied honestly. "But it's not as bad as it was. I'll go see Doc tomorrow to make sure everything's ok."

"Tomorrow?" Max asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"I'd go with you, but I've got a meeting with Jason tomorrow," Max said.

"Who's going with you? Is it here or at the office?" Alec asked, slowly sitting up. He didn't like he wouldn't be able to go with her to protect her.

"It's here and Rocky and Mole will both be with me," Max said. "Who's going with you tomorrow?"

Alec shrugged, "Bear will probably go and I might take Shep with me so he can get out and walk around."

"Take Zane and Jondy with you too. They want to get to know you better," Max said.

"Max," Alec said with a sigh. "I'm not takin' them with me to a doctor's appointment. That would be weird."

"Well, then at least eat lunch with them," Max said. "They really want to know you and you've started hanging out in here more since they got here…"

"I'm resting and it's weird to sleep on the sofa since that's technically Zane's bed right now," Alec tried to defend. "And you've got me on lockdown so it's not like I can _go_ anywhere. I'm surprised you're ok with me going to the Mess and eating lunch with them."

"Don't be a brat," Max said. "Doc's probably going to clear you to go out and do things tomorrow and it's not like you listen to me anyway. Or have you forgotten about walking out of here a few days after being shot?"

"I haven't done anything else since then so lay off," Alec growled.

"You got shot, Alec. You're lucky I didn't take you to the hospital and have you handcuffed to the bed," Max shot back.

Alec sighed, he wasn't going to get anywhere fighting with Max. "I just don't like being cooped up like this…" He and Max loved each other, but that didn't change their personalities. They still argued a lot, but it never lasted long. "This apartment feels smaller every day and I think I'm going stir crazy…"

"But you're getting a little better," Max said, settling against him again. "And then we can find out who's behind all this."

"Good," Alec replied. He turned off the light again and wrapped his arm around Max before he closed his eyes. "Maybe if Zane does take Shep back…maybe we should get a dog…"

"Whatever you want, Alec," Max said, kissing his chest.

* * *

"Really Alec? You brought a dog to your appointment…" Doc muttered when he, Shep, and Bear walked in.

"Just be glad I'm here," Alec grumbled back. He sat on the bed and took off his shirt without being told to.

"Someone's grumpy today…" Doc muttered. "Lie back."

He had to clench his jaw as he moved; he felt worse today than he had yesterday and Shep was practically glued to his side. Something was wrong.

"Alec, you're fighting off an infection," Doc said quietly. "We need to go to the hospital to see what's wrong. There could be a bone fragment that I missed or a million other things that could be happening."

"I'm not going to the hospital," Alec stated. "It's probably gonna go away in a few days."

"Either you go to the hospital now or you're staying here tonight with fluids and antibiotics," Doc said.

"Just set it up at the apartment. Why do I have to stay here to get fluids?" Alec argued.

"Alec," Doc said with a sigh.

"Just let me go eat lunch with Max's brother and sister, and then I'll come back, ok?" Alec interrupted. "I told her I'd eat with them and she'll know something's wrong if I ditch them."

"They could come here to eat," Doc pointed out.

Alec glared, "It'll only take an hour at most. I'm not gonna die walking over to the Mess and walking back."

"Bear goes with you and you go there and come straight back, got it?" Doc asked.

"Got it," Alec replied. "As long as you don't tell Max until after her meeting with the mayor."

"Deal," Doc said. He helped him up and walked him to the door. He was a little dizzy so he didn't argue about the help. "You have one hour before I come looking for you."

Alec nodded and walked out of the Infirmary and towards the Mess Hall. He didn't really want to eat with Zane and Jondy, but it would be better than hanging out in the Infirmary all day. He looked over at Bear and saw that she was glaring at him.

"Look, I voluntarily went to see Doc before it got any worse," Alec defended.

"But you knew yesterday and waited until today to go," Bear said.

"I'm fine. I've just got a small fever that's all," Alec said.

"Tell that to Max," Bear grumbled.

"I will," Alec said.

He walked into the Mess Hall and got in line for his food. Shep stayed close to his side; people gave him wary looks, suspicious of him. He knew why they didn't like Shep, but they didn't know him. He didn't care what people thought anyway; he wanted Shep with him, so that was how it was going to be.

He grabbed a tray full of food and scanned the room to try and find Zane and Jondy. He didn't see them right away, but then Jondy stood up and enthusiastically waved at him. He slowly walked over and sat next to Zane while Bear sat on the other side by Jondy.

"Hey man," Zane said. "How ya feelin'?"

Alec shrugged, "I'm wearin' down fast, but it's still good to get out and walk around."

"We could've eaten in the apartment," Jondy said. "Max just said you wanted to eat in here."

"I do," Alec said quickly. "I'm tired of soup and I'm really fine, I'm just losin' my energy burst. It'll come back after I eat something."

Zane bit his lip and looked over at Shep, but he didn't say anything. Jondy smiled though and asked, "What's next on the agenda? We were thinking you might give us a backstage tour if you're up for it. Max gave us a quick tour, but she said you knew everything there was to know about this place."

Alec smiled, but shook his head no, "I'll have to do a raincheck. I'm supposed to rest some more after this."

"Told you it was too soon," Zane hissed.

"It doesn't hurt to ask," Jondy shot back.

"Except Max said he needed to rest and that we were supposed to make sure he did that after we ate," Zane argued.

"I'd be bored too if all I could do was rest all the time. I would want some fresh air too," Jondy said.

Alec smiled as Jondy and Zane went back and forth with each other, arguing just like a brother and sister would. He didn't even care that they were arguing about him since it was pretty funny to watch them. It made him wish that he had a brother. Well, a brother that was still alive and wasn't nine kinds of crazy.

He'd never met Ben, but the fact that he'd been picked up for his twin's serial killings was enough to make him glad that he hadn't. He already had hard feelings towards him for getting him thrown into psy-ops multiple times, but finding out he was insane was just the last nail in the coffin. He hadn't even felt that bad when Max told him what happened to him. He felt worse for Max than he did for his crazy twin.

Zane and Jondy eventually stopped fighting and they went back to talking about what was going on in TC. They asked him about the rebuilding and how long he thought it was going to take. They asked him who people were as they walked into the Mess Hall and what they did around TC. They asked what job he thought they could start doing, but he really didn't have a good answer to that one. He needed a few more people for supply runs, but he didn't know how they handled themselves outside of TC. He'd have to wait until he was back in his routine before he assigned them something to do.

He found that he liked talking to Max's brother and sister and he felt less awkward around them after they had talked for a while. He hadn't even realized how long they had been talking until Doc came to find him.

"Doc!" Everyone yelled at once, but Alec groaned.

"Here he is," Doc said walking up behind him. "I'm guessing you don't own a watch. Either that or you usually take two hour lunches and didn't realize what time it was."

"I must've left my watch at the apartment…" Alec muttered.

"C'mon, social hour is over. It's time for some medicine," Doc said.

"Alec, what's going on?" Zane asked.

"Nothing, I'm seriously feeling a lot better now," Alec lied. "And I told Lucky I would introduce him to Zane and Jondy since he didn't get to meet them earlier."

"That's gonna have to wait a little while longer. C'mon, no more stalling," Doc said.

Alec sighed, "Fine. I'll catch up with you guys later…" He got up and Shep and Bear got up too and followed Doc out of the room. "Just so you know, I'm not lying on one of those beds lookin' like I'm on my death bed again," Alec warned. "I'll sit in a chair or something, but not on one of those beds."

"How about the sofa in my office," Doc asked. "No one will see you, if that's what you're worried about."

Alec thought about it, but then nodded, "Alright, I'll hang out on the sofa."

"Good," Doc said. He brought him into the little office and situated some of the pillows around before he motioned for him to lie down. He rolled his eyes, but did so without arguing. "Ok, so I'll keep you on fluids and antibiotics to try to get your fever down."

"It's not even that high," Alec muttered.

"107 is pretty high for a transgenic," Doc argued. He put the needle in his vein, and then wrapped a blood pressure cuff around his bicep. "And your blood pressure is pretty low too…" Doc left, and then came back, but Alec growled when he tried to move his shirt out of the way to connect electrodes to his chest.

"Doc, I'm cooperating as much as I'm physically able to, ok? Just cool it and I'll hang out for a while," Alec said.

"Just take a nap and try to relax, ok? Pet your dog too, that might help your blood pressure," Doc said. "But if your heartrate gets much higher, I'm connecting you to a heart monitor," he warned. Alec rolled his eyes, but he didn't say anything.

Shep jumped onto the sofa and rested his chin on his legs. Alec got a little more comfortable, and then said to Bear, "You don't have to stick around if you don't want to. I'm just gonna be sleeping and Doc's gonna be here so you don't have to worry."

Bear settled into Doc's office chair and pulled out one of her romance novels. "Don't worry about me, Alec. I have something to do."

"Whatever you say…" Alec mumbled, closing his eyes.

He slept for a long time; he'd been sleeping a lot lately, but it hadn't been a very restful sleep. He could hear Doc walk in every so often to check on him and change out the IV bag before he left the room again.

"Bear…can I ask you something?" Doc asked, coming in his room again. He was still mostly asleep and he didn't feel like opening his eyes and chatting with Doc.

"Of course," Bear replied.

"What's he stressing about? I've looked him over and I can't find anything wrong. I think it might be stress that's causing the infection," Doc said. "Or at least stress caused the fever which caused the infection."

"Well, somebody did shoot him," Bear muttered. "And we don't know who, which would cause him to stress." Bear was covering for him. She was really the only person who knew that somebody was watching him. She knew he didn't want anyone else to know, otherwise he would've told Max about it.

"Bear, I know him well enough to know that's not the only thing," Doc said. "He's freaked out about something and I think the dog knows he's freaked out."

"Shep knows he's hurt, that's why he's sticking around," Bear said. "If he was freaked out about something, I would know what it was."

"You would know, but would you tell me?" Doc asked.

"Only if he would want people to know," Bear replied.

"So, you're telling me to drop it," Doc guessed. It was quiet for a minute, and then Doc continued, "Ok, I'll take the hint. But you do realize this is serious, right? He gave himself a fever and if he doesn't relax a little, it's just going to get worse." It was quiet again, and Alec knew Bear was giving Doc a hard look. "Alright, alright, I'll drop it…"

He fell asleep again, only surfacing when Doc checked his pulse or listened to him breathe. He hadn't been planning on staying there the entire day, but he did feel terrible. His muscles had started aching the day before and had only gotten worse. He didn't know if it actually was stress that was causing him to be sick, but he didn't like it.

"What's wrong? Where is he? Jondy and Zane said he'd left with you at lunch and they haven't seen him the rest of the day," Max said. Her voice was muffled, so she must have still been in the main room and hadn't spotted him in the office.

"Max, calm down, ok? He's just got a fever and he's fighting off a small infection. I've put him on fluids and antibiotics, and he's slept most of the day," Doc said.

"What happened? Why is he fighting off an infection?" Max asked impatiently.

"Gunshot wounds can have a lot of complications," Doc said. He was surprised Doc didn't ask Max what he was stressed about. "Even if he follows every instruction I gave him, he could still have complications. Just be glad he came to see me before it became a real problem. I think with the antibiotics, his infection should clear up. But I'm not a real doctor. I can only give you my best guess."

"Do you think we should go see Dr. Carr?" Max asked.

"I don't think we're to that point yet," Doc said. "If you want, I'll keep him overnight for observation. But his fever hasn't gone up since he got here and his blood pressure has come up some."

"Where is he?" Max asked, not saying if she thought he should stay overnight or not.

"He's in my office. He didn't want to stay out here," Doc said.

He could hear footsteps heading his way, and then he heard Max sigh. He opened his eyes a crack and gave her a small, apologetic smile. "Hey Maxie…guess I fell asleep after my appointment," Alec tried to play off even though Doc had already filled her in.

"Drop the act Alec," Max said. "Doc already told me what's going on."

"I'm alright," Alec muttered, slowly pushing himself up to his elbows. He dropped back down after a moment though; his side hurt too much for him to really move.

"Alec, did you know last night?" Max asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"I didn't feel great, but not as bad as I do today," Alec replied honestly.

"I took you home too early," Max said to herself. "I should've kept you here a few more days."

"Max, I'm really alright," Alec said. He didn't feel good, but he didn't think this warranted a trip to the hospital.

"Doc, can you call Dr. Carr and let him know we're coming to see him," Max said.

He managed to push himself up and said, "Max, you're way overreacting. I just have a small fever and low blood pressure. We don't need to see a doctor for that. I just need to take some medicine and eat a cookie or something."

Max glared at him, but she caved after a minute. "Fine, but you're staying here overnight."

Alec rolled his eyes, but he decided she could win that one. "Fine," Alec agreed, but he slowly pushed himself all the way up and moved to stand.

"What are you doing?" Max asked, stopping him. "You're staying here tonight, remember?"

"I gotta go to the bathroom," Alec complained. "Doc's been keeping me on an IV all day, so my bladder's full. Is that ok?"

Max growled in annoyance, but she didn't stop him from grabbing his IV pole and going to the bathroom. He went and was coming back when he suddenly felt extremely lightheaded. He stopped walking and tried to get the room back into focus. He sort of heard Max call out his name, but there was a roaring in his ears so she sounded funny. Shep perked up and quickly ran over to him, giving him a warning bark, but he didn't know what was going on. He shook his head and started to take another step when his legs gave out and he collapsed.

He was only unconscious for a second, but his head was killing him and the room was spinning. Doc, Max, Bear, and Shep were surrounding him and Doc was asking him questions.

"Alec, can you hear me? Do you know where you are?" Doc asked calmly.

He tried to nod and he mumbled, "…Infirmary…" He needed the room to stop spinning; it was making him feel worse.

"Good, ok, how old are you?" Doc asked.

"21 I think…" Alec said. He was confused and he didn't feel good.

"Bear, call for an ambulance," Doc said before he turned back to him. "Alec, can you tell me who you ate lunch with today?"

He felt someone lift up his shirt, and then someone else worked his arms out of his sleeves. He wanted to help, but it felt like he couldn't control his arms. "Zane and Jondy," Alec answered. Something was being put on his chest… "What's going on?"

"Alec, I'm putting electrodes on your chest so we can monitor your heartbeat, and then I'm going to put you on oxygen," Doc said in a soothing voice. "Your lips are slightly blue and I'd feel better if you didn't sound so breathless."

"Alec, do you know what happened?" Max asked him.

"Um…I don't…I don't know," Alec said. He felt confused and he still wasn't sure what was going on.

"Ambulance is on the way," Bear said. "Where's Rocky?"

"He's right outside," Max said.

Alec flinched when a light was suddenly in his eye, "What's going on?"

"Alec, try to relax a little, ok? Help is on the way," Doc said. He could hear a very rapid heartbeat, and he vaguely knew it was his. "His heartbeat is way too fast and his blood pressure has dropped."

"What about his breathing?" Max asked. He felt someone's hand in his hair, which felt nice.

"Very shallow…" Doc said. "And his fever spiked again. He was at 107 when he came in and now he's at 110."

"I radioed Mole and told him an ambulance was coming through," Rocky suddenly said. "He wants to know what's going on."

"Tell him I'll fill him in later," Max said.

"Alec, you still with us?" Doc asked him.

"Yeah…" Alec breathed out.

"Ok, I'm going to put an oxygen mask on you," Doc said. "I know you don't like them, but don't take it off, ok?"

He didn't know if he nodded or not, but an oxygen mask was being put of his nose and mouth. It was uncomfortable and he didn't like it, but he found that he could breathe a little easier.

"Doc, what's going on?" Max asked, trying to remain calm.

"I honestly don't know," Doc said.

"Ambulance is here and the paramedics are on their way," Rocky said.

"Alec, stay with us," Doc said, tapping his cheek. He slowly opened his eyes, not even realizing that he'd closed them. "The paramedics are almost here."

"Who's hurt?" Alec asked in confusion.

"You are," Doc said. "You passed out and we don't know why."

"I'm alright…" he slurred.

"That sound a little more like him," Doc said.

"Bear, we're going to ride in the ambulance with him," Max said. "Rocky, you and Doc follow behind us, ok?"

He didn't hear their answers, so he assumed they nodded. He was fine for a few more seconds, but then two new people came in. People he didn't recognize.

"Alec, calm down, ok? It's just the paramedics," Max soothed.

He didn't know what was going on again. The two new people took Doc and Max's spots and started poking him with needles and squeezing his arm with something. He didn't feel good and all he wanted to do was sleep.

He gasped when a cold blanket covered his burning skin.

"Alec, can you hear me?" One of the paramedics asked. This one was the guy paramedic. The other one was a girl and she was examining his gunshot wound. "Alec, nod if you can hear me." He nodded so the guy paramedic said, "Alec, my name is James and that's my partner Sharon. Do you know what happened?" He shook his head no; he felt like he should, but he couldn't think of it. "Ok, do you know how old you are?"

"21," Alec whispered. He could tell James couldn't hear him; he forgot he had an oxygen mask on.

"Can you use your fingers?" James asked. James moved the blanket that was over him so he could lift his hand. He put up two fingers, and then one finger before he dropped his hand again. "21?" Alec nodded. "Alright, we're going to get you taken care of. We need to disconnect some wires and change a few things, but I'll keep you in the loop, ok?"

Alec nodded again; he was feeling pretty bad again and he just wanted to sleep.

"Ask him about the gunshot wound," Sharon said. "And tell him I'm going to remove the IV and put in a catheter to have access to a vein."

"Alec, could you hear Sharon?' James asked. Alec nodded. "Ok, she's going to just put in a catheter, and then we'll get you on the IV again. Do you remember when you got shot?" James carefully moved the oxygen mask so he could talk.

"Um…a few days ago," Alec said.

"And when did you start feeling bad?" James asked.

"I guess last night sort of…" Alec breathed out.

"When did it get really bad?" James asked.

"A little while ago…"

James settled the oxygen mask over his face again and said, "Ok, we're going to get you on a gurney, but you need to stay awake and keep trying to answer my questions." He looked over at Max and asked, "Who do you want us to take him to?"

"Dr. Carr," Max replied.

"Two can go with us," James said. "We'll go straight to the hospital. You'll need to call Dr. Carr before we get there so he can meet us and can get security out there if he needs to." He didn't hear Max reply, so he assumed she nodded. James was back a second later and said, "Alec, I'm going to take off the oxygen mask, but I'll put another one on as soon as we move you." The mask was removed, and surprisingly he actually missed it. The extra oxygen was really helping him.

"Ok, on my count," Sharon said. "One, two, three."

He was lifted briefly, and then set on something else. They attached wires to the electrodes that were still on his chest, his rapid heartbeat sounding again, and another mask was carefully put over his face. The blanket was removed, but then a colder one quickly covered him again.

"Alec, we're going to put some straps over your feet, waist, and chest to keep you on the gurney, ok?" James asked. He didn't like that, but he didn't want to fall off either, so he nodded. They strapped him onto the gurney, and then the gurney was raised up. They started to move, but stopped suddenly when Shep jumped up and lay on his legs. He almost smiled; Shep didn't want him to leave.

"Um, c'mon doggy, you need to get off now," Sharon said.

"Can he go too?" Max asked. "Um…Alec's got PTSD and Shep is his service dog." He wanted to kiss Max for making up that story for him. She knew he wanted Shep to go too, and it wasn't that farfetched. He probably did have some degree of PTSD, they all did.

"Alright, he can come too," James said.

They moved quickly down the hallways, and he knew he shouldn't be lost, but he couldn't pinpoint exactly where they were. He knew Command had a mess of hallways with conference rooms scattered around, and he knew the Infirmary and the Mess Hall were all connected, but he couldn't figure it out. Something was seriously wrong with him.

"Alec, does it feel like you're getting enough air?" James asked him.

He didn't really know, so he shrugged in response. James turned something, and then it felt like more air was coming through.

"Can I hold his hand?" Max asked. She sounded scared, but Max didn't get scared. He didn't want to scare her. He didn't want to be sick in the first place. He'd gone to see Doc to try to prevent this from happening. He didn't know what was going on, and he didn't like it.

Max suddenly grabbed his hand, so James must have said it was ok.

James continued asking him questions all the way to the ambulance, and even after they started moving. He wanted to sleep, but every time his eyes closed, the questions would start again.

He heard Max talking on the phone to someone, but he couldn't figure out who she was talking to. He felt like he should know more of what was going on, but his head felt jumbled. He didn't even realize that they were at the hospital until James and Sharon were moving him again.

Lights flashed by as they went through the hospital. "Alright, what do we have?" A man asked.

"21 year old male, conscious at the scene, but slow to respond," James said. He zoned out when James went on about his stats. He knew they were bad, and he didn't need to hear them again.

"What about the dog?" The man asked.

"Service dog," James said.

A light shined in his eye and he flinched back, "Alec, I'm Dr. Carr, do you know where you are?"

"Hospital…" Alec said.

"I'm going to take you up and do a few tests to see what's going on," Dr. Carr said.

"Max…" Alec whispered. He tried to move his hand to reach out to her, but he was still strapped to the gurney. He whimpered, and Max instantly reached for him. "Max, I don't wanna do this," he breathed out. "I don't wanna do the tests…please…" He hated the tests; they hurt and they lasted for hours. He shook his head to try to clear the memories from Manticore, but he couldn't quite manage it.

"Alec," Max soothed, brushing her fingers through his hair. "We need to know what's going on. We need to find a way to fix this. I know you don't want to do this, but please, for me, please cooperate with Dr. Carr."

He really didn't want to do this, but Max was begging him. Max was scared and this might make her feel better. "Ok Maxie," Alec finally replied.

"Alec, I'm just going to draw some blood first," Dr. Carr said. "I'll send that to the lab, and then we'll get an EKG to see what's going on with your heart. After that, you just need an MRI for your gunshot wound."

He felt a little better knowing what was coming. They never told them what was going on at Manticore, so maybe this wouldn't be too bad. "Ok…"

He cooperated and did what Dr. Carr wanted him to do. He was dizzy by the end of it, and he was actually relieved when they set him up in a room. He finally got to sleep again even though he had so many wires and tubes attached to him he couldn't move without pulling something out or getting tangled up in something.

Max was sitting next to him in bed along with Shep. Bear, Rocky, and Doc were sitting around the room and they were just waiting for some news. Dr. Carr came in to check on him every 15 minutes and a nurse came in every 10 minutes to check his IV and to make sure his blanket was still cold. His fever wouldn't break and his heartbeat wouldn't go down. He was having trouble breathing and since the room was spinning, he felt extremely nauseous. He could only sleep for five minutes if he was lucky.

"Ok, I've got the results for your blood test," Dr. Carr said a few hours later. He didn't look very happy, and they found out why when he said, "From this first test…it looks like you were poisoned."

* * *

 _More soon..._


	6. Chapter 6

"What?" Max breathed out in disbelief. She squeezed his hand, and he wanted to comfort her, but he couldn't even comprehend what the doctor had said. Someone had shot him and now someone had poisoned him. Maybe they weren't after Max after all.

"It looks as if you were poisoned," Dr. Carr repeated. "I'm not sure yet if you ingested it or if it was injected, but I should know in a few hours."

"How long…" Alec breathed out.

"How long until the effects wear off?" Dr. Carr asked. Alec nodded; he didn't have enough strength to finish his question, but luckily Dr. Carr knew what he was asking. "I'm not sure. It depends on what kind of poison it was and how strong it was. I don't know if it'll wear off in a few days or in a few hours. Until I know more, I won't have any real answers for you."

"So we just have to wait?" Max asked.

"I'm afraid so," Dr. Carr said. "Unless something changes, you are stable right now and we'll continue to monitor you. Our biggest concern right now is your breathing. We're going to keep you on oxygen until your breathing is stronger, but I'm afraid there isn't much we can do."

He nodded and tried to relax, but he felt terrible. He shivered suddenly, and Max touched his shoulder. "You ok? Are you cold?"

"Yeah…I-I'm cold," Alec whispered, shivering again.

Dr. Carr walked forward and grabbed the thermometer off the wall. He stuck the thing in his ear and waited until and obnoxiously loud beep went off in his ear. He was used to this routine since they'd been checking his temperature every hour, but it still sucked. Since the thing was in his ear, the beep was way louder and it hurt when it went off.

Dr. Carr shook his head though and said, "Fever's still at 110…Must be a cold chill. I'll have one of the nurses keep an eye on him and change out his blankets when he needs it." He felt dizzy again, and suddenly he couldn't understand what people were saying. He could tell when his oxygen was turned up again because he could suddenly hear again. "Alec, can you hear me?" Dr. Carr asked. Another stupidly bright light flashed in his eye and he flinched. "Alec?"

"I can hear you," he breathed out.

"Alec, I have to suggest that we put you under and intubate," Dr. Carr said. "Your lungs are working overtime, but you're still not getting enough oxygen. Until we figure this out, the best way to keep you safe is to have a machine breathe for you."

He immediately shook his head no. "No. I'm alright."

"Alec-"

"I'm alright," he said, a little stronger this time. "If I pass out and you can't get me back again, then fine, intubate me, but until then I don't give you permission."

Dr. Carr sighed, but nodded. "Ok, I'll let you know as soon as I know more."

"Alec, this could take a while to figure out," Max said as soon as Dr. Carr was gone. "I don't like it anymore than you do, but if intubation will help you, then maybe…"

"No Max," Alec whispered, losing his tiny burst of strength. "Just let me sleep, ok?"

She gave him a sad smile before she nodded, "Ok Alec."

* * *

"How the Hell did he get poisoned?"

"Mole, I don't know, ok?" Max hissed as quietly as she could. Alec had fallen asleep and the nurses had left him alone expect to peek their heads in to make sure he was still asleep. Mole had been calling her nonstop since they left, but this was the first chance she had to call him back. "Dr. Carr's looking into it, but that's twice someone's tried to kill him…"

"Who would want to kill him is the better question," Mole muttered. "Everybody 'round here loves him. Well, actually, everybody out there loves him too…Can't really see anybody tryin' to kill him except White, but that bastard's in the wind."

"Maybe he's got one of his people with us again," Max said.

"And they took a hit at him instead of at you?" Mole asked. "If I remember correctly, you were the target for White's man. The General was the one that was after Alec."

"I don't know who else would be after him, but this wasn't a coincidence," Max said. "The first one could've been someone trying to take down our structure, but two hits on him…someone's after him in particular."

"Well, people 'round here are gettin' antsy. You and Pretty Boy are missin' and rumors are spreadin' like crazy. They saw the ambulance. Hell, some of 'em let it in. They want some answers, but I don't have any to give 'em."

"As soon as Alec's stable enough for me to go, I will," Max said. "But I'm not going anywhere while he's like this."

"How bad is it?" Mole asked softly.

"Dr. Carr suggested that we intubate him to help him breathe," Max whispered.

"Max, if he can make it back from what happened last month, then he can come back from this," Mole said. "He was pretty messed up from what the General did to him…"

"I know…This should feel like a cake walk compared to that, but it still hurts," Max admitted.

"Mole, one of the news crews wants to know why there was an ambulance," Dix said in the background.

"Tell 'em it's none of their damn business," Mole growled.

"Mole, it took us a long time to get them to talk to us," Max sighed.

"Yeah, well, Pretty Boy ain't here, Princess. So, get your ass back here and you can deal with them," Mole growled.

"I'll call as soon as Alec improves a little," Max said. "Until then, don't ruin everything, got it?"

* * *

"Did Max say when she was coming back?" Dix asked as soon as he hung up.

"No," Mole grumbled.

"What about Alec? Is Alec ok?" Dix asked quickly.

"I don't know, ok?" Mole snapped. "You know just as much as I do, and we need to keep it that way. Got it?"

"Yeah…What should we do about the media?" Dix asked. "We don't have anyone that can talk to them…"

"Grab Lucky. He'll look alright in front of the camera and he won't say anything stupid," Mole said. "Tell him that they'll probably ask where Alec is since he's normally the one that talks to them, and tell him that they'll ask about the ambulance. If he has to, he can say that Alec's caught something and we just called in an ambulance to check on him since none of us are technically qualified. Do not let them know that Alec and Max are both outside of TC right now, got it?"

"Yep, I'm on it," Dix said.

"And then get me Joshua and Logan," Mole said. "And you and Luke should be there too. We need to get things movin' for when they get back."

Dix nodded, and then said, "We can figure this out. I know we can."

"Yeah, well, we just better do it before one of ours gets killed," Mole said.

* * *

"Where's Alec?" The blonde reporter, Becca, asked him. "We haven't heard from him in over a week…did something happen to him?"

"Alec's alright, he's just a little under the weather right now," Lucky answered as calmly as he could. He wasn't cut out for the spotlight; he liked staying in the shadows and just following Alec's lead. But his friend wasn't here right now, and he needed to cover for him.

"He's sick?" A male reporter, Charles, asked. "What's wrong with him? Is it the flu? Is it the toxins?"

"No, it's not the toxins," Lucky said. "He'll be alright though."

"What about the ambulance?" Tiffany asked, shoving a microphone closer to him. "Who was taken to the hospital? Was it Alec? Or was it one of the many females that are pregnant?"

"The ambulance was for Alec, but he's still in TC. We just needed someone more qualified to check on him," Lucky said.

"So, he's serious enough to need expert help?" Becca asked.

"We just needed to double check that he was going to be ok," Lucky said, trying to remain calm and not say something stupid. "He's kind of important around here, you know," Lucky tried to joke. The reports laughed, so at least that was something. "And since we normally don't get sick, we just wanted to double check."

"Do you think whatever he has is contagious?" Charles asked.

"No, it's not contagious," Lucky said. "Unless of course, everyone works until they drop. He's been working nonstop to try to rebuild our home. They believe it's just stress and being overworked that's the problem." He felt pretty good for coming up with that one, even though it was pretty believable.

The reporters actually looked relieved to hear that Alec was just being overworked and it wasn't something more serious. He just wished it was true.

"So, how are things going in TC?" Tiffany asked, moving on to what they normally reported on with Alec.

"Good," Lucky said with a nod. "The new apartments are almost finished and we'll be working more on the gym once that's complete."

"Are there any new arrivals?" Becca asked.

Lucky smiled, this was the kind of thing he liked the reporters talking about. Alec sometimes even brought one of the babies with him to show the world that they weren't so bad. "Yes, Zola and Zinnia were born a few days ago. Twin girls. And Miri was born yesterday."

"Any chance we can take the Grand Tour today?" Charles asked.

Lucky shook his head, "Not until Alec's back on his feet."

"What about Max and Mayor Coburg? We hear they're having a secret affair. Is that true?" Becca asked.

"No," Lucky said quickly. "Max would never cheat on Alec and Alec would never cheat on Max."

"Then how come Max has been seen getting into the Mayor's car more frequently than usual?" Becca asked.

"When Alec's back on his feet, he can answer all of your questions," Lucky said. He was done with this interview and he never wanted to do it again. This was Alec's domain, and he wished his friend would come back.

* * *

"Max, this might be the best time to put him under and intubate him. Before he gets any worse," Dr. Carr said.

"He said he didn't want it, and he's not unconscious, he's just asleep," Max said.

"It was an injection," Dr. Carr said. "I have no idea if this is the worst symptom he's going to have or if he's just going to keep going downhill. The best practice is to plan for the worst and hope for the best. The worst thing that can happen right now is for him to suddenly not be able to breathe, but we're too late to help him."

"Doc? What do you think?" She asked. She didn't want to do this to Alec, but she didn't want to lose him either.

"He's already barely breathing, Max," Doc said. "If we put him under, then at least we can better control his symptoms and we can keep him alive if he does stop breathing."

"He's a fighter, Max. He can fight this," Bear said. She knew Bear would defend Alec. Bear had Alec's best interests in mind too since she was his bodyguard, so she wasn't just saying this.

"Not if the poison's designed to kill him," Rocky said.

"There has to be an antidote, right?" Max asked Dr. Carr.

"Max, I've never seen this," Dr. Carr said. "This poison is advanced. I don't think it was designed to kill him, but it's taking over his system. His gunshot wound brought down his immune system, and the poison is too strong. Normally, this would probably just make him sick for a few days, but I'm afraid now it's going to be too much for him."

She looked over at Alec. He was pale, his freckles were standing out, and he looked young and vulnerable. But she knew Alec, she knew he would hate to have a tube down his throat, forcing air into his lungs. He hated being in the hospital and hooked up to all these machines, but he needed them to live. She needed him to live.

In the end, she didn't have to choose. Alec made the decision for all of them.

The high pitched, continuous tone of his heart no longer beating had her own heart freezing. Dr. Carr was yelling, probably telling them to move, but it was like she could no longer hear. She stood there and had to watch as Dr. Carr forced Alec to lie flat and pulled down his hospital gown, revealing the wires that were stuck to his skin. He hit a button on the wall, and then more doctors and nurses raced in.

Someone put a tube down Alec's throat and squeezed a bag to keep him breathing. Dr. Carr put stickers on Alec's chest while two nurses tipped him on his side and slid something under him. All she could hear was his flatline as the doctors and nurses scrambled to bring him back. Dr. Carr grabbed two paddles and put them on the stickers on Alec's chest. Everyone backed away from Alec at the same time, and then his back arched up off of the bed.

The same thing happened two more times before the high pitched tone turned into a weak, but steady, beat. She felt like she could breathe again as soon as Alec was back.

"Let's get him set up on the ventilator," Dr. Carr said, giving her a sad look.

* * *

"Ok Joshua, do you smell anything besides Max, Alec, Jondy, Zane, and Shep?" Mole asked, slowly walking around Alec and Max's apartment. Someone else had been in there, he just knew it. Alec had been in the apartment since he'd been shot except for two times. And only one of those two times could he have been poisoned. But even injured, Alec wouldn't let someone get the jump on him while he was awake. It had to be when he was in the apartment.

Joshua sniffed the air and looked around the living room before he slowly made his way back to Alec's room. He stopped once he was in the small, but tidy room, and sniffed everywhere.

"Alec," Joshua said, sniffing.

"Yeah, no kidding," Mole grumbled. "This is his room."

"Alec…and other," Joshua said. "Alec and Max…other…"

"Other…other like Zane or Jondy?" Mole asked. "Or Shep?"

"No…other," Joshua said.

"Bear maybe?" Mole asked. He knew someone else had been in here, but he needed Joshua to rule everyone out.

"No…someone else," Joshua said. "Someone like Alec."

"An X5?" Mole asked.

"Yes," Joshua said with a nod. "Other like Alec."

Mole rolled his eyes, "Yeah…Do you think if you smelled the other again, you'd know it?"

"Yes," Joshua said.

"Great, you're stickin' with me," Mole said, leading Joshua back out of Alec and Max's apartment. "Dix, how's the security system comin'?"

"Good, should be up within the hour," Dix said. "Luke's working on the cameras outside and Logan's setting up a system. If anyone tries to get in here again, we'll know."

"Good. Alec's a pain in the ass, but he a pain in the ass we can't live without," Mole said. "Whoever's tryin' to kill him ain't gettin' another shot."

* * *

Max held Alec's hand as she sat with him and listened to him breathe. Well, fake breathe. The machine was breathing for him now. This was too familiar though. She felt like she was used to holding Alec's limp hand in her own.

"I'm sorry Alec," Max whispered. "I don't know how this happened…"

"Max, this isn't your fault," Rocky said gently, sitting in the chair next to her. "Alec's gonna fight this, and make it back."

"Someone poisoned him, Rocky. Someone's trying to kill him," Max said. "Either they're trying to get to me by hurting him or someone actually has something against him."

"Someone's always got a complex plan to try to get to us. We're science experiments, and people either want to kill us or cage us. This is just another one of their sick plans and unfortunately Alec's the one caught in the middle again," Rocky said. "But just like with the General, he's going to do whatever it takes to stay alive."

Max choked back tears, but she smiled and shook her head, "He values his life too much to give up." Rocky smiled and nodded, but before either of them could say anything else her phone started ringing. She wiped her eyes and composed herself as much as she could before she answered, "Go for Max."

"How's he doin'?" Mole asked.

She took in a shaky breath before she said, "Not good. They had to put him on a ventilator."

"Shit…" Mole muttered. "Alright, well, you want some decent news?"

"Yeah, talk to me," Max said, needing a distraction.

"I had Lucky talk to the media. Kid didn't do too bad considering this was his first time. Quick thinker," Mole said. "We've got your place wired with security cameras, but only me, Dix, Luke, Logan, and Joshua know. I didn't even tell Zane or Jondy just in case it's them. And we have a small lead on who might be behind this…"

"Who?" Max growled.

"All we know is that it's an X5," Mole said. "Joshua has their scent, so we're going to start going through TC to find this bastard."

"Good," Max said. "Call me as soon as you find them."

"You call me if anything changes," Mole replied.

"Copy that," Max said before she hung up.

"Good news from the home front," Rocky said with a small smile.

She nodded. Now if only Alec would come back to her.

* * *

"Now is the perfect time to strike. Max is gone, Alec's gone, both the bodyguards are gone…why are we waiting?" Dash asked.

"We're waiting because it's not the right time," Christy growled. "Fenton screwed up. Took matters into his own hands. We're just lucky Alec was too preoccupied with something outside the fence to see him."

"Alec's the one that screwed up," Dash defended. "He screwed Fenton over without a second thought back at Manticore, but now everyone acts like he's some kind of hero."

"Alec is not the target!" Christy yelled. "Our targets are the traitors who left. The ones who made Manticore ten times worse for everyone. Our targets are the '09ers who escaped without even thinking about the rest of us. This is not a personal vendetta because back at Manticore Alec got the extra cookie when you and Fenton didn't."

Dash glared at her, but she didn't care. She had a carefully thought out plan, but the idiots who were following her were going to ruin it. She had worked months to get Max to trust her, and she needed that trust to be close to the leader. She knew everything that was going on, and she told Max as much as she wanted her to know. It was the perfect set up, but only if everything worked out as she planned. Their leader should not be someone who only cared about a select few. Their leader should be someone who cared about all of them. Who had stayed and suffered with the rest of them. She didn't care that Max was the one to 'set them free'.

"Me and Fenton, we're not the only ones who want him gone," Dash said. "Someone else put a hit on him too."

"Then let them take him out," Christy said. "Besides, he's a twin, he might be able to back us up if things turn sideways."

"He's with _her_ ," Dash snarled. "He's not going to side with us."

"You don't know how bad it was for the twins," Christy spat. "We had it worse than any other transgenic in Manticore. Alec will never forget how bad it was…" Her twin sister, Eva, hadn't made it, had been shot before the escape, but she was still punished for it. Eva had started it all by turning on Lydecker, and getting shot and killed for her disobedience. Christy agreed that Eva had to go, but Lydecker wanted to make sure the rebellious streak wasn't in her, so she was punished just like the other twins.

"Fine. What's our next move?" Dash asked.

"We wait," Christy said. "Keep working on getting more on our side. The more we have, the easier it will be to take them down. But let Hazel do the talking. She can feel out if they're going to turn us over or not since she's psychic. Be smart."

"Fine," Dash grumbled. "But if whoever put a hit on Alec actually takes him down, then I'm not waiting any longer."

"Just wait for my signal," Christy snarled.

* * *

He waited until everyone was asleep before he slipped inside the mostly silent hospital room, just a steady beat of a heart monitor and the whoosh of oxygen from a machine made a sound in the small room. The target was not going to make it. The poison was too strong or the target was weaker than he suspected. The mission was going to fail because the target was weak.

He moved like a shadow in the room. All of them were weak. They had lost their training. They needed to be brought in and reindoctrinated. They were weak and useless like this. He was going to bring them all back, but only if the target stayed alive.

He looked down at the target. Weak and frail were the two words that came to mind. The target should only have been sick for a few days with the dose he gave him. At least he tested it before he made his move. If the target died, the mission would fail. Now he had to save the target so his mission would be successful. Stupid.

He injected the target with the antidote. He'd either have to rework the poison or come up with a different way to complete his mission.

He waited until the target's heartrate increased and he finally started to gag on the tube down his throat. He looked down at the target with disdain before he slipped back out the window without making a sound.

* * *

 _More soon..._


End file.
